Unspeakable Things
by oliviahotchner
Summary: Hotch and Emily are kidnapped in the middle of a horrible case. In the hands of their unsub they'll have to do things they never imagined doing with each other. After their rescue they'll have to face the emotional scars from their abduction and the consequences of their acts. Will they be able to go on? How will they help each other with their recovery?
1. Impossible Decisions

**A/N: Hello you! Here I am with another one :)**

 **Before anyone say anything, I didn't forget Undercover Operation. You guess will notice that I marked the fic as Complete... I won't post it there anymore because I think the title doesn't work anymore, but I'm already working on a sequel and it'll be up soon.**

 **This new thing was on my head bugging me for a long time, but ever since I try to work on Oblivion and TTCL at the same time and almost went insane with the pressure I decided that I won't work on two big fics at the same time anymore. It's too much, I wouldn't have the time and you guys would be pissed with me for my lack of updates. So, now that I finished We Had It All, I can start working properly on this.**

 **I'd like to advise you guys, this fic it's a lot dark and angst and our favorite couple will be put in pretty bad situations... You'll see it from the first chapter. There's kidnapping, psychological torture, forced sex (not exactly rape) and a lot of emotional scars. Of course there'll be also some romance and hurt/confort between them.**

 **It's my first time writing something so deep and dark so, please, take it easy. I'm already working on the next chapter and it'll be up soon (depending on the feedback from this). I sincerely hope you guys like it. And it's still unbeta'd.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own CM.**

Chapter 1: Impossible Decisions

Hotch blinked one, two, three times when he opened his eyes, trying to focus on his surroundings. He could feel his head ponding and his vision was a little blurry. The smell of blood and sweat filled the room and he groaned at the ache on his back when he tried to straighten himself. He tried to remember what had brought him to his place but his pounding head was confused and he couldn't recollect what had happened. He heard a groan and turned his head to his right to see who was with him.

The sight of his dark-haired colleague laying on the dirty floor, with her arms handcuffed to an iron bar behind her head, made his stomach tremble. "Prentiss?" His voice was scratch and his throat ached with the dryness.

"H-Hotch?" She cracked, turning her head to the sight and trying to focus her blurry eyes on him. "W-what h-happened?" She asked.

He shook his head but immediately regretted the movement when his stomach protested and the taste of vomit filled his mouth. He breathed deeply for a few seconds to regain composure before trying speaking again. "I-I don't know… what do you remember?"

Emily narrowed her eyes trying to remember what had happened. "We… we went to the newest dumpsite… we were working on that case in Ely…" She said with a low voice. Her breathing was elaborated and he could see that she was in deep pain. He frowned when he finally noticed that he didn't have any restrains like her. He crawled to her side and tried to work on the handcuffs but they were too tight. He tried to find something to use on the lock when a raspy voice spoke through the speakers he hadn't noticed yet on the wall.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Agent Hotchner…" He looked at the speaker. "Do you see the little slit on the wall right behind your friend's head?" The voice asked and Hotch localized the small opening on the wall, under the bar and exactly directed where Emily's head was. He could see other openings through all the four walls on the room too. "Well, if you try to open the handcuffs, or even scratch them, this will happen…" The voice said and Hotch couldn't contain his gasp of horror when a metal rod emerged from the wall right from another slit beside her head. "Did you get the picture, Agent Hotchner? Unless you want Agent Prentiss on a stick for dinner tonight, I'd suggest you to leave her handcuffs alone…"

"Okay, I got it…" He said tightly. He looked at Emily and could see her frightened eyes looking back at him and cursed himself for his inability to help her. "What do you want from us? Why did you bring us here?" He asked looking to the speaker. There weren't any doors or windows in the room, saved by a little metal opening in the same wall of the speakers. He noticed that there was a small red light in the top of the speaker, probably from a small camera.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… you would think that capturing two federal agents I would escape from the dumb questions… 'Why are you doing this to us?' 'What do you want?'… That's just so boring, agents… isn't that obvious? I just want to have a little fun…" The voice said in a mocking tone. "But before that, you two need a little substance…" There was a loud click and then a tray was being pushed through the small opening before it clicked shut again. "Agent Hotchner, I'll trust you to feed your partner… there's also some bandages and a few baby wipes for you to clean up a little bit…" Hotch eyed Emily warily and hesitated to take the supplies and food. "I'd advise you to eat… you two were unconscious for nine hours… your body will need strength for what I planned…" He said with a creepy chuckle. "Don't worry. Nothing is poisoned or drugged. You guys are no good for me death…" There was another chuckle and then silence.

The agents looked at the tray for a few minutes, trying to resist the urge to take anything, but soon enough their bruised bodies asked for food and care. "H-Hotch?" Emily called him. "I… I need water…" She said with a small voice and he sighed, knowing that she was right, they needed water and food. He took the tray and looked at the contents. There was four bottles of water, apparently still sealed, two big chicken sandwiches, a small package of crackers and two bottles of Tropicana. There was also a paper bag with a few bandages, Band-Aids, baby wipes and even some Advil.

"That's really creepy…" He said quietly after digging into the bag. He quickly shook his head and started to take care of his partner. He could see her fair skin a few shades whiter and her eyes had dark circles, showing how much exhausted she was. There were a few cuts on her cheeks and on the corner of her lips. Her light green shirt was scratched and dirty and her brown trousers were all crinkled.

He opened one of the bottles of water and held her head up while helped her to drink. She drank the whole bottle in record time but a little spilled on her chin, neck and shirt. Hotch cleaned her damp skin carefully with his hand and then opened other bottle to drink it himself. He asked Emily if she wanted more and when she denied he just picked one of the sandwiches and gave it to her, holding it to her mouth while she took a bite. He helped her to keep her head steady while they shared both sandwiches, surprised by their hunger. He opened a bottle of juice and shared it with her, saving the other two bottles of water, the crackers and the other juice for later, since they didn't know when they would get more food.

After they were satiated Hotch took the bag and grabbed a few baby wipes to clean up some of the dirty and dry blood on them. "Okay… I'll have to touch your arms and raise your shirt a little bit to take a look and clean up a little…" He told her and she nodded at him. He then, carefully, used the wipes on her forehead, cleaning the blood on the cuts on her cheek and then cleaning her neck and some of her ample cleavage. He tried his best to not look at her but her elaborated breathing didn't help him to not notice her very detectable chest. He used more wipes on her arms and hands and then lifted her shirt to clean a few scratches on her belly.

After he was finished with her he used a few wipes on himself, cleaning his face, neck and hands and undoing his cuffs to roll up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. Both opted to not take the Advil, not wanting to take any drugs, even the light ones.

"What do you think he'll do?" Emily asked quietly after some time with just silence.

Hotch sighed heavily, resting his head on the wall. "I don't know… we do know what he did with the other couples, though…" He pointed and she nodded slowly.

The team was working on this case in Ely, Nevada, for the last two weeks. Their unsub had already kidnapped two couples in the last four weeks. He kept them captive for five days and then dumped the bodies in abandoned buildings. The cause of death had been a single stab on their heads, caused by a sharp object. Now they knew what the object was. There weren't any other severe injuries, just a few cuts and scratches along the bodies. The victims had been well fed and hydrated and there was no sign of sexual abuse, although there was semen found on the women, the coroner said the act was consensual and the DNA matched with their partners, so it'd probably happened before the abduction.

Hotch and Emily had gone to the newest dumpsite to check for leads when they were ambushed by the unsub. Since he said they had been unconscious for at least nine hours Hotch was calculating that it must been pass midnight, so the team was definitely already looking for them.

He remembered that Reid was pretty focused on the geographical profiler when they left and Garcia was digging into the possible connections between the two couples so he had faith on his team to find them in time. Until then though, he could only wait to see what it was this bastard's game and take care of Emily. He had a pretty bad feeling about the reason why he was free of restrains but he didn't want to add any stress to the situation with his speculations.

The time passed and Hotch started to feel a little agitated. He absolutely hated no being on control and the guy had taken even his watch off, along with his badge, cellphone, Glock and back-up, not that he was waiting less than that. He stood up and started to pace around the room, looking for something, anything that could help them to get out of there.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily's quiet voice startled him in the silence of the room.

"That the team must be going nuts after us right now…" He answered her and she nodded with a small smile. "How are you feeling?" He asked, kneeling down by her side.

"My arms and my back are aching…" She said shifting a little bit.

"Can I do anything?" He asked helplessly.

"No… I don't want the pills and you can take the cuffs off…" She said with a shrug.

"I still can't understand why he's keeping you restrained and me free. The most logical thing would be the other way around…" He said sighing.

"Now, there's an intelligent question, Agent Hotchner…" Came the voice again through the speakers. "Now that my guests are well fed and clean we can start our little fun…" He said with a voice that sent shivers to both agents.

"What do you want?" Hotch asked angrily.

"Agent Hotchner, I will now present three options for you to proceed. First, I'd like to emphasize that I'm a guy who cherishes reciprocity… I can't enjoy myself if I don't see my beloved guests enjoying themselves too…" He said and Hotch frowned, not liking the implication. "That said, here are your three options, agent. Number one: you'll give your lovely friend some loving time, if you know what I mean. I'm talking about the whole act, I will know if you guys are faking. You'll have to take all her clothes and yours too and I want to see you showing her what a man is made for…" He said and Hotch gaped at him.

"You're insane…" He said shaking his head.

"Now that's a little harsh, Agent Hotchner". He said with a reproving voice. "I guess now is when I show you your other options… number two: I will knock you unconscious, and believe me, I can do it from here, and then I'll go inside and have a little fun of my own with Agent Prentiss… trust me, there's a lot of things I'm dying to do with her…" He said with a needy voice and Hotch said Emily's eyes widening with fear.

"No way in hell. You won't touch her…" Hotch growled.

"Well, then it just leaves us with option three. I'll press my little button here and we both will have Agent Prentiss's head on a stick for breakfast…" He said and then chuckled at the look of horror in both agents' faces. "So, Agent Hotchner, what will be? You have thirty seconds to decide…" He said and then there was silence again.

Hotch looked at Emily with helpless eyes and his heart dropped at the sight of her eyes filled with tears. "Please, don't let him touch me…" She begged with a broken voice and Hotch sighed heavily, burying his head on his hands, cursing the unsub for putting him in this situation. He couldn't do that. He couldn't do that to her. How was he supposed to look at her after that? How was he supposed to face her after violating her in such level? He couldn't do it. He couldn't.

"So, Agent Hotchner, time's up. What will be?" The voice asked and Hotch breathed deeply, taking one last look on Emily's frightened face before answering.

"I'll do it…"

 **A/N: I warned you. So... should I go on? Please, reviews will make me write this, otherwise I'll just let it go. I'm really nervous about this.**


	2. Deal with the Devil

**A/N: Wow, I'm so glad you guys are excited about this, I was so nervous! Thank you so much for all the reviews, alerts and favorites... you guys are awesome as always. Like I said yesterday, I had this second chapter almost ready so I managed to finish it and I'm posting it to you quickly.**

 **I tried to make it the less painful I could.** **** **I can't stand they suffering so much so I tried to smooth things a little bit. I hope you guys like it.**

Chapter 2: Deal with the Devil

"Go ahead, Garcia…" Dave answered the phone quickly. His head was pounding with the stress and the worry about his friends. It was now ten hours since they noticed Hotch and Prentiss absence and they were running out of leads to find them.

"Sir, I found something, sir!" Garcia's excited voice echoed through the speaker. "We already know that the only connection between the two couples was that they fueled their vehicles at the same gas station two days before the abductions but all the employees had alibies and nothing in their background raised any red flags, right?" She asked rhetorically. "The thing is that I dug deeper and deeper and I found out that two deliveries were made in that establishment at the same days, exactly at the same hour the couples were there. The company delivers beverage to the convenience store and the same employee made the deliveries both days…" She said.

"What's his story, baby girl?" Morgan asked after a beat.

"His name is Damien Scott. He's thirty-six, divorced. His ex-wife has a restraining order against him and made two complaints about violent behavior in the last couple of years. He worked for five companies in the last three years, going from janitor to delivery guy. He was fired after complaints of other employees and customers for inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment. His parents were killed by a drunk driver when he was two and Damien was sent to an orphanage. He was never adopted. There were three different couples who showed interest but gave up after he was taken to spend a couple of days with them. They said he didn't seem to be an easy child and one of the couples made a complaint about a situation with their pet…" Garcia explained.

"This has to be the guy…" JJ said.

"There's more. After his ex-wife got the restraining order he bought several online books and signed up in a couple of seminars about relationships. One of them was about how to deal with your woman and it showed a lot of chauvinist techniques about how to manhandle your woman properly…" Garcia said with a disgusted voice.

"Garcia, do you have an address?" Dave asked.

"I have two. One is actually ten minutes from where you guys are now and the other is outside the city, two hours down the Highway 50…" Garcia said. "I just sent both to your cellphones right now…"

"Thanks Garcia…" Dave said.

"Go get my babies back…" She answered and they hung up.

"I think it's really unlikely he's using his city address. It's way too close. And the dumpsites are far from the city too so it's more likely he's holding them in that direction…" Morgan said.

"Let's pass by the first address first. If he's not there we'll go to the other one…" Dave directed them and they nodded, making their way to the SUV's.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Well, damn! I was kind of hoping you'd give me an opportunity with this nice piece of ass…" The voice came through the speakers and Hotch never wanted to kill someone so much like this man. He had seen very disgusting unsubs during his almost eight years at the BAU. He saw a man annihilating families, he saw a man taunting his team and then shooting one of his agents at cold blood, he saw a man torturing one of his own, he saw a man killing a woman just to attack his friend and then he also saw his friend losing himself after that. He saw so much blood and so much evil in this job but he never thought that one day he would be forced to do something like this in order to survive. He never thought he would be forced to hurt his friend, to violate her body like this.

He felt disgusted with himself at just the thought of what he was going to do. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing, trying to avoid the bad taste on his mouth and to keep his tears at bay, knowing that he had to be the strong one between the two of them. It was enough already what he was going to do, he had to give her at least some support to go through this with him.

"Enough stalling, Agent Hotchner. You better start your job or I'll change my mind and choose myself what's going to happen with our beautiful Agent Prentiss…" He said and Hotch shivered at the implication. He couldn't let this man touch her, hurt her.

He took a deep breath and then turned to Emily, almost losing at the sight of her tears. He knelt down by her side and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, cupping her face and looking into her eyes. "I promise you I won't let him touch you, okay? I promise you, Emily…" He said firmly and noticed her reaction at the use of her first name. It wasn't a practice of him. She was always Prentiss, ever since she started on the team, almost two years ago. But now, in this situation, he didn't think it was appropriate to use her surname.

"That's beautiful, Agent Hotchner. But let's get to business, okay? Take off her shirt. Or unbutton it, since you can't take everything… I want to see some skin…" He said and chuckled at the end, a sound that made Hotch feel sick and Emily start to sob a little bit.

"Ssh… ssh… it's okay…" Hotch shushed her, wiping her damp cheeks again. "Forget about him, Emily. Don't listen to him… it's just me here and I won't hurt you… you know that, right? I'll never hurt you, Emily…" He whispered to her and she nodded at him.

"I trust you…" She whispered and he wanted to die. He'd rather die than do anything to hurt this woman but he knew he had to be strong and go on, for both of them.

"I'm going to open your shirt, okay?" He said quietly and she nodded quickly at him, the tears never stopping to fall from her terrified eyes. "I am so sorry, Emily, I'm so sorry…" He whispered painfully while his trembling fingers worked on the button of her shirt. He saw her purple lace bra and let out a sharp breath at the sight of her smooth skin.

"Oh… she's beautiful, isn't she?" The voice said, the desire clear on his voice and Hotch hated himself again for agreeing with him. Emily's skin was completely flawless, her ample chest perfectly held by her bra and her stomach flat and toned. She was soft and smooth and he closed his eyes at the sound of her sobs because he shouldn't be thinking about this. He shouldn't be looking at her like this when she was scared and restrained like now. "C'mon, you're too slow, Agent Hotchner and I'm losing my patience…" The voice said harshly.

"Hotch, please…" Emily whimpered and sobbed again and Hotch felt his own tears pricking in his eyes while started to unbutton his shirt. His tie and jacket were already off since he woke up. He finished with his buttons and took the shirt off, followed by his undershirt.

"Well, well, well, you're a very fine man too, Agent Hotchner…" The voice chuckled and Hotch just ignored him, focusing his attention on Emily.

He looked at her frightened face and sighed heavily, caressing her hair and cupping her cheek again. "Emily… I can't…" He breathed shaking his head. "I can't do this to you… I can't rape you, Emily…" He said painfully.

"Hotch, please…" She whispered again and he shook his head.

"I can't… not like this… I won't do it like this… you have to trust me…" He said quietly, looking straight to her eyes. "I need you to look at me and only me… focus on me. There's no unsub, there's no case, there's no voice, there's nothing but you and me here, do you hear me?" He said and she nodded her head, her whole body trembling. "I won't force myself into you, Emily… you don't deserve this… you deserve to be cherished and taken care of…" He whispered caressing her cheek. The voice continued to taunt him, urging him to go on but he completely ignored it. "Emily, can I kiss you?" He asked and she nodded at him with wide eyes, the tears still falling down her cheeks.

He very slowly lowered his head down and pressed his lips carefully on hers. He felt her go completely still under him and didn't press more, waiting for her to give him some sign saying that it was okay for him to go on. After a few moments he felt her starting to press back to him, slowly moving her lips against his, at first shyly and then with more firmness.

"C'mon agents, if I wanted to see that I would have looked for some soft porn online…" The voice mocked them. "I want to see more action… don't make me start to interfere…"

Hotch felt and heard Emily whimpering at the sound of the unsub's voice and quickly caressed her hair soothingly. "Ssh… it's okay. Don't listen to him… it's just me. Just focus on me, okay?" He whispered against her lips and she nodded. He pressed his lips on hers again and this time started to trace the line of her lips with the tip of his tongue. She hesitantly opened her mouth to him and he sneaked his tongue inside, stroking hers very slowly, forcing himself to bit back a moan at the taste of her.

He braced himself on top of her, both of his hands supporting his weight on each side of her head, and kissed her thoroughly, trying to put as much as gentleness into the kiss, relishing the small mewls he managed to get from her. The unsub continued to taunt them but he positioned his hands on each one of her ears to block his voice and help her to focus on them. He kissed her until they were both breathless and then pulled back, giving her one last peck before pulling apart to look at her.

He caressed her cheek and leaned down to trace a line of kisses on her neck and collarbone before going up again to lick the shell of her ear. "Close your eyes, Emily…" He whispered on her ear and she obeyed him, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. He continued to kiss her skin, covering every single inch of her neck, collarbone, shoulders and cleavage with his mouth in the most careful way. His mouth ghosted against her skin as if it was the most expensive china and she couldn't help but moan quietly at the sensations he was creating. He pulled back to look at her again and sighed heavily at the sight of her flushed cheeks. "I'm going to unclasp your bra now, okay?" He was thankful that it was a front clasp, making things easier for them due to her restrains.

She nodded at him and he flicked the clasp open, revealing the two rose nipples. The voice said something but he chose to ignore it and just looked at her, relishing the two wide brown eyes staring at him. Her breathing was more elaborated and the movement of her chest made things even more confusedly arousing for him. Again, he hated himself for reacting this way in a situation like that. He shouldn't enjoy looking at her, he shouldn't feel the desire he was feeling, he shouldn't be aroused by her. Not like this.

But he was. God forgive him, he was. He was sure he was going to hell but she was so incredibly beautiful and it had been so long, almost a year since his divorce and he hadn't been with anyone else. He looked at her one last time before closing his eyes and leaning down to take one of those nipples into his mouth. She arched her back to him and gasped his name and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the only one reacting.

He chastised himself, remembering that that was the exactly intention of his acts. He didn't want to make this a traumatizing experience, not much more than it already was. He didn't want to take advantage of her. He didn't want to rape her. He wanted her to enjoy. He wanted her to feel something that helped him to not feel so much disgusted with himself for what he was doing.

He took the other nipple into his mouth and gave it the same treatment, kissing and licking and biting, eliciting low moans and whimpers from her. For at least a few seconds he forgot where they were and pictured them in his bed, loving each other because they wanted and not because they were trying to survive in the hands of a psychopath.

"You have two minutes to get things into real action, Agent Hotchner. I'm tired of this little romantic scene of yours. I'm pretty sure Agent Prentiss is not a virgin anymore so just get busy or I will… I'm pretty sure she'd like it…" The voice brought him back and he felt Emily shivering beneath him, not in the good way like before but with fear.

"I won't let him touch you, Emily…" He said again looking into her eyes. "I need to take your pants off, okay?" He said brushing his hands on her belt and she nodded shakily.

He made a quick work with her belt and zipper and then he pushed her pants down her legs, pausing a while to take off her boots before taking them all the way off. He looked at her, with her shirt and bra opened and wearing only matching purple panties and shivered again. He kicked off his shoes and opened his own belt, taking off his dress pants and socks, leaving him wearing only his black boxers. He leaned in and covered her body with his, taking her mouth in another kiss, trying to take her head off that place. His hands brushed the waistband of her panties and she moaned into his mouth, arching her back, pressing her breasts on his chest.

He pulled back and looked at her, tugging the panties down slowly and she nodded at him. He pushed the small fabric down her creamy legs and looked at the glistening of her folds, thanking God the fact the she was too aroused by him. He hesitated for just a fraction of a second before pulling down his boxers, leaving him completely bare too.

He saw her eyes widening slightly at the sight of him and leaned down to kiss her again, his erection brushing through her lower lips making them both moan. "Inside, Agent Hotchner. And no faking, remember, I'll know if you fake it…" The voice said. "You can thank me for the bareback ride later… it's always more fun. And don't even think about pulling out. A man needs to mark his woman properly…" He said with a husky voice and Hotch cursed him.

He focused his attention on Emily and brought his hand to caress her cheek. "I'm going to push in now…" He said lining himself at her opening.

"Be careful… it's been over a year and you're quite large…" She whispered to him and he nodded at her.

He slowly pushed his way in, burying his face on her neck and groaning at the tightness of her channel. His breathing was heavy and elaborated when he settled himself all the way in. "Are you okay?" He asked looking at her.

"Yeah…" She nodded, shifting her hips against him. He closed his eyes with a groan at the movement and started to move in and out slowly. At each thrust she gasped quietly on his ear and arched her back towards him, the sound of her handcuffs clinking on the metal bar echoing in the room.

"Are you enjoying it, Agent Prentiss?" The voice said breathlessly and Hotch felt Emily tensing beneath him. "Do you like being manhandled? Do you like being possessed?" He taunted and Emily grew tenser and tenser.

Hotch cupped her cheeks and made her look at him. "Look at me, Emily! Focus on me! Don't listen to him… forget about him… he's not here. It's just me!" He said out of breath and she nodded against him. He hoisted her legs up on his waist and she gasped loudly at the change of angle. "That's it… it's me, Em… just me… I'm not possessing you… I'm taking care of you… I'm cherishing you…" He whispered in her ear and she closed her eyes, trying to focus her attention on him and the sensations he was causing on her body.

"Hotch…" She panted breathlessly against his ear and he speeded up his thrusts, making sure to hit all the right places each time, trying to make her feel as much pleasure as he could.

The unsub continued to speak but both agents blocked his voice out, focusing on each other and their embrace, trying to take the best of this, ignoring the danger and the fear, ignoring the case and the unsub, ignoring everything but themselves.

Hotch could feel himself close and he knew Emily was too so he pressed his hand between their bodies and used his thumb on her clit at the same time he captured her lips with his in a needy and deep kiss, wiping their minds blank and throwing both of them over the edge together. She moaned into his mouth at the same time he grunted his release and then they were both breathing heavily, foreheads connected, eyes closed, their bodies still joined as one and covered on sweat.

"Well done, agents, very well done. You two can get some rest… we'll continue to play later…" The unsub said and by the sound of his voice they could see he was panting of breath too and the thought made both of them sick.

"Did he…" Emily started but Hotch cut her off with a sweet kiss.

"Forget about him. Don't think about him…" Hotch said quietly against her lips. "I'm pulling out, okay?" He said and at her nod he pulled out of her and she couldn't avoid the little whimper. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" He asked brushing his fingertips on her cheekbones.

"I'm okay…" She whispered at him and he nodded, getting up to take the paper bag at the corner. He took a couple of baby wipes and cleaned her and then picked her panties and pants and started to dress her again. "Don't you think he'll make us do it again?" She asked as he buckled her belt.

"Doesn't matter. I won't leave you naked like that…" He whispered at her and clasped her bra again before working on the buttons of her shirt. He then proceeded to dress himself again, putting his boxers, pants, undershirt and shirt, but opting to leave it unbuttoned. "Are you hungry? Do you want some water?" He asked her.

"I want water, please…" She said and he opened one of the bottles, holding it against her lips. She drank a few sips and then he drank the rest. He pushed the tray aside again and sat beside her, burying his face into his hands. "Are you okay?" Emily's quiet voice startled him after a few minutes.

He looked at her and she could see the glistening of his eyes and the guilty plastered all over his features. "I am so sorry for doing this to you…" He said quietly.

She just looked at him and felt her own eyes watering. "Can you hold me?" At the look on his face she quickly added. "Please… I need it… don't leave me alone now…" She pleaded at him.

He nodded at her and lay by her side, putting his arm around her waist and his head on her neck since it was the best way due to her position. "I'm sorry…" He whispered again.

"It's not your fault…" She whispered back. Then stayed holding each other on the floor, trying to process what had happened and trying not to think about what was still waiting for them.

 **A/N: Next chapter, their rescue! And the start of their recovery. How do you guys think it'll go? I accept suggestions...**

 **I don't know if I'll post it tomorrow. I didn't start it yet. But you guys can help me reviewing as always...**


	3. It's not really over, is it?

**A/N: I know! I know it's been a very long time - almost a week! - and I should have post it sooner but I wasn't managing to write this the way I wanted and it was starting to piss me off. Sorry, really.**

 **I finally finished and I thing I managed to do something good here. We're starting to get into the real plot of this fic... I hope you guys like it. I'll try really hard to not take so long to post it again.**

 **And thank you all very much for your reviews. You guys are the best and I'm really happy. Thank you!**

Chapter 3: It's not really over, is it?

Hotch didn't know how long they were lying on that cold and dirty floor. Emily was now sleeping and he watched the frown of her brow, cursing the fact that even in the dreamland she was obviously being hunted by the hell they were currently living. He felt her shivering and carefully got up and walked to the corner of the room where his jacket and tie were lying on the floor ever since he woke up. He caught his suit jacket and walked back to her, covering her with the fabric and resuming his positing by her side again.

Part of him was immensely glad at her request for him to hold her. He honestly thought that she would be disgusted by him and that their relationship, the boss-subordinate and occasional colleague relationship of them would be completely wracked by this. He was still feeling sickened about what he had done and even though he knew he had done everything he could to make things easier, especially for her, he didn't know how he'd proceed working with her on daily basis, knowing what happened, knowing what they had done.

Although Hotch had been raised by a very traditional southern family and, mostly because of his father, he grew up going to the church every Sunday and having religious traditions taken seriously, the hate for his father's hypocrisy for being a honorable man in front of society but an abusive alcoholic father and husband at home added with the years working with the evil and crime every single day, made him not very fond of God and things related to that.

But in that particular moment he caught himself asking for help. He caught himself talking with a God he disowned so many times, asking for strength to get through this, asking for help to keep going and get out of there. He asked for strength to get over this, to be able to move on after they manage to get out of that place, to have the tools to fix the things that were broken because of this experience, to put everything behind them and keep going.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily's quiet voice startled him out of his thoughts. She wasn't shivering anymore and her eyes were still closed.

"I'm praying…" He found himself being honest with her. Her eyes shot open at that and her big brown eyes looked at him intensely.

"I didn't know you were religious…" She said and he couldn't interpret the tone of her voice.

"I'm not. But right now it seemed appropriate…" He said with a shrug. "What about you? Do you believe in God and this kind of stuff?" He asked curious.

It was her time to shrug and she took a few seconds to answer him. "I believe in something… something beautiful that helps us to get through our worst times… but I don't have a good experience with the church. When I most needed it I was bad viewed and unwelcomed there… it's not something I managed to forget…" She said quiet and he struggled with his curiosity about what had possibly happened to her. By the look on her face he knew not to pry and just offered her a small smile. "It's been how long since he left?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. A little over an hour, I guess…" He said.

"Do you think the guys will find us in time?" She asked after a few seconds.

"They will." He answered without hesitation. "We have the best team, Emily…" He said after seeing her uncertain look. "I'm pretty sure Reid by now already found the unsub's probable address and Garcia definitely already knows even his license number…" He said in a tentative joke.

"You really have faith on the team, don't you?" She asked with a smile.

"More than anything. They never let me down and I know that they won't do it now…" He answered convinced.

They shared more silence for a few minutes before she cleared her throat. "Err… it's nice to know that you know my name…" She joked and he chuckled humorlessly.

"Yeah… calling you Prentiss like that it didn't seem right to me, you know…" He said with a shrug and she closed her eyes nodding.

"I just…" She started a little unsure. "I'd like to… just, thank you… for doing it like that… for trying to get my head out of him… for trying to make it good…" She said quietly opening her eyes to stare at his hazel ones.

He looked down for a second before looking at her again and she sighed at the sight of his conflicted eyes. "I couldn't do it any other way… I couldn't do it mechanically, like it meant anything… I know that if I hurt you or made it even worse for you I would never be able to look in your eyes ever again…" He said and then sighed. "I know most of the people who know me think that I'm cold, that I don't have emotions or just bury them inside so much that they just stop existing but… I _do_ feel. I _do_ care and I just couldn't… I couldn't do it any other way…"

"I don't think you're cold." Emily said after a few moments. He looked at her curiously and she shrugged before answering. "I think life was pretty hard on you and you built a shell to protect yourself. And I understand, I do, because I did it myself…" She said. "Do you remember the Hankel case, when JJ confronted me because I didn't flinch about anything we were seeing after coming from a desk job and then you came and said that she was right, that I didn't even blink?" She asked and he nodded. "What you guys didn't know is that I had gone to the back of the house a few hours earlier and cried my eyes out because of Reid and JJ. And when we saw him dying on that video… I felt like I couldn't breathe… the problem is that I _do_ bury everything inside and lock it into little boxes to process later and that's what keeps me going… the years with my mom and her political games made me learn to not let things affect me, at least not in front of the others…" She confessed.

"I didn't know that…" Hotch said quietly. "I'm sorry for making assumptions… I know I gave you a hard time when you came to the team…" He said with an apological tone.

"You don't need to apologize. Now I know where you were coming from… I mean, you were actually right, you know. I was put on the team to play a political agenda…" She said with a shrug. "I just didn't know that…"

"Although that might be true, you not only refused to play her games to destroy my career and quit your dream job but you earned your role on our team just like everyone else…" He said softly. "Honestly, I don't know how we would function without you anymore… you're a vital part of our family, don't forget that…"

She felt her eyes watering and blinked a few times before answering him. "Thank you… you have no idea how much this means to me, especially coming from you…" She said with a soft smile.

"I'm just saying the truth, Emily…" He said with a slight small. He noticed her shifting and grimacing a little and frowned. "How are you feeling?"

"My whole body aches… I think a need a full body massage and then two hours soaking in a nice bathtub to feel better…" She said with a wishful smile and he chuckled.

"Well, that definitely sounds heavenly…" He said nodding. "Seriously, though, are you sure I didn't hurt you?" He asked concerned.

"You didn't, Hotch. I'm aching because of these damn handcuffs… I think I honestly can't feel my arms anymore…" She said with a groan. "And the other part, you didn't hurt me… you were really careful and gentle and I appreciate that… well, like I told you, it had been more than a year since I've last been with someone and I know I'm giving you a huge ego boost right now but it's the truth, I've never been with a guy _that_ … well-equipped…" She said and chuckled at the blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks, I guess…" He mumbled. "I… I haven't been with anyone since Haley either…" He said after a few seconds. At her raised eyebrow he nodded knowingly. "I know, I know that the word out there is that I was involved with Kate before she…" He paused, unable to finish. "Anyway… it's not true. Kate was a good friend and even though she had showed interest in something more I just never saw her like that… she was beautiful, of course, but I just didn't find myself attracted to her…" He explained and Emily nodded.

"You know her death wasn't your fault, right?" She asked seeing the dark look on her face.

"Yeah…" He nodded. "I've come to terms with that already… I did my best to save her but unfortunately I couldn't… it was beyond my hands…" He said resigned.

They were in silence for a few moments until they heard a loud shout and a bang. "What's that?" Emily asked alerted.

"I don't know…" Hotch said standing up and positioning himself in front of her, protectively.

"Hotch!"

"It's Morgan!" Emily said excitedly after they heard their friend's shout.

"In here!" Hotch shouted back and banged on the wall. There was a loud sound of metal clinking and then part of the wall cracked into a hidden door. Morgan popped his head in and they both saw the relieved look on his face when he saw them.

"Thank God you're both okay…" He said opening the door completely and stepping in. He gave Hotch a quick hug and then frowned looking at his partner cuffed on the floor. "Why are you free and she's like that?" He asked looking at Hotch again.

He exchanged a quick look with Emily and it was enough to both of them agree that it wasn't the best time to speak about what happened, so Hotch just ignored his question and went down to business. "I can't undo the cuffs. There's a device out there that will be triggered if I even scratch the cuffs and you don't wanna know what will happen if I do…"

"I shut everything down. His system isn't working anymore, you can uncuff her…" Reid's voice came through the door a few seconds before he and Rossi appeared at the door.

"What happened to him?" Emily asked and they all knew what she was asking.

"He's death. He tried to shoot Reid when we burst in and I had to shoot him down." Rossi explained.

"Good." The three agents raised their eyebrows when both Hotch and Emily said that at the same time but they knew better than pry at that moment. Reid passed a set of keys to Morgan and he turned back to Emily.

"Well, let's get you out of this cuffs, princess…" Morgan said and when she saw him taking a single step on her direction her whole body stiffened and she looked at Hotch with wide and frightened eyes.

"Let me uncuff her, Morgan…" Hotch said firmly, taking the keys out of his hands and standing right between Emily and Morgan in a protective posture. The dark profiler noticed that and raised an eyebrow but respected the request and just watched the Unit Chief kneeling down beside Emily. "I need you to put your head all the way back, the most you can, just in case, okay?" He said softly and she nodded, stilling her body and trying to angle her head out of the way the best she could. Hotch inserted the key on the lock with his hands shaking and waited a beat before turning it to the right. The sound of the click made him freeze but then he saw the handcuffs opening and worked Emily's hands out of the restrains. The minute she was free she flung herself into his arms and they both breathed a sigh of relieve. "You're okay… you're okay… everything's okay…" He whispered on her hair and felt her nodding against his shirt.

"Thank you…" She whispered, muffled by his shirt.

"It's okay… let's get you out of here…" He said and pulled back. "Can you stand and walk?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"I guess…"

He helped her onto her feet but she felt her legs trembling beneath her and she gripped his shoulders tightly to keep her up. "You okay?" He asked looking at her.

"My legs are shaking…" She said truthfully.

"Let me care you outside, princess…" Morgan said trying to approach her again but Hotch felt her body go still and looked into her pleading eyes. They both knew that she hadn't been raped but with the emotional abuse they both suffered he could understand why she didn't want to be near a man right now, especially one as intimidating as Morgan.

He still didn't understand why she was feeling so comfortable with him of all people but he wasn't going to make things harder to her, so he just blocked Morgan once more and put one arm under her knees, efficiently lifting her from the floor in bride style. "I'll take her, Morgan…" He said turning to the door. He said Morgan open his mouth to argue but one look was enough to shut the younger man's mouth.

They walked out of the house and Hotch carried Emily towards the paramedics that were already waiting. He saw a man approaching them and shook his head slightly, sitting her in the end of the ambulance. "Is there any female paramedic to take care of her?" Hotch asked and the man nodded understanding.

"Of course, just a second…" He said and walked away. Hotch sat beside Emily and her hand immediately caught his in a tight grip. He just squeezed it back and they both watched the rest of the team working on the scene, coordinating with the local officers and the paramedics. After they left the house they left both profilers alone, understanding that something bad had happened but that wasn't the right moment to question about it.

They were just sitting there for a few minutes when a uniformed woman approached them. "Okay, let's take a look on you two, right?" She said with a soft but not pity voice. She turned to Emily with questioning eyes and they both saw her struggling to ask something. "Agent Prentiss, I need to know… do we need to run a rape kit on you?" She asked and Emily felt herself shivering but shook her head adamantly.

"No. We don't…" She said firmly.

The paramedic looked at Hotch questionably but he just shook his head too. "We don't need to do that. Could you just check our vitals? We were both fed and hydrated but we suffered a blow on our heads and were unconscious for several hours…" Hotch explained to her and she nodded at him.

It took several minutes for the paramedics to check on both of them but they were released without concussions or serious injuries. The two dark haired agents followed the other agents to the SUV's and they all headed back to the hotel. Since it was the middle of the night they decided to wait for the next morning to fly back home.

Emily stayed quiet the whole drive and Hotch chose to sit by her side on the back of the SUV Dave was driving while Morgan, Reid and JJ were following them in the other one. Dave wisely decided to keep his questions to himself and just observed the two agents by the rearview, raising a slight eyebrow when he noticed the way their hands were linked on Hotch's lap.

Hotch spent the whole drive thinking about what had happened and how they would cope things from now on. He thought about the emotional scars he was already seeing on Emily and cursed himself for being part of what had happened. When they were almost reaching the hotel one particular thing she said crossed his mind and he felt his heart drop and he knew he was visibly pale.

"Aaron? Are you okay?" Dave asked, noticing the look on his face.

Hotch blinked, seeing that they had reached the parking lot and the car was already off. He looked at his friend and nodded once with a look that told him to ask no questions and opened the car's door. They got out at the same time the other SUV was parking and Hotch ignored everything else, turning his attention to Emily. "Do you think we can talk for a minute? I know it's late, but it's really important…" He knew it was cruel of him to do this tonight when they were both physically and emotionally exhausted but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anything if he didn't know the truth.

Emily frowned at him but nodded once. "O-of course… we can talk in your room…" She suggested, knowing that she was sharing with JJ while he had the room for himself. He nodded at her and murmured a quiet goodbye to the team, saying that they'd meet at ten on the next morning.

They walked towards the elevators and he pressed the 3th floor's button, both of them in silence, the weight of what had happened between them starting to show. When the ding of the elevator brought them back he led her to his room, opening the door and motioning her to get in, following her and closing the door.

He looked at the carpet floor for a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts and come up with a way to ask her what was bugging him. "Are you okay?" Emily's quiet voice startled him and he felt himself being dragged to her worried brown eyes.

He toyed with the tie hanging undone around his neck – his jacket was still with Emily – and took a few steps towards her. "Back there, in that basement, you told me you hadn't been with anyone else in almost a year…" He started. She frowned deeper and nodded at him, visibly confused. "Emily… are you protected?" He asked and by the look on her face he saw that she was still having some trouble processing things. He took another step and stood right in front of her, hazel eyes looking deeply into her brown wide ones. "Do you take the pill, Emily?" He asked again and, by the way her jaw dropped and her eyes widened even more with fear and concern, he already knew the answer.

And for the second time in less than twenty minutes he felt his heart drop and his face pale.

 **A/N: Now we're getting somewhere. I was thinking about possible ways of Emily getting pregnant and Hotch being the father and I was sick of drunking mistakes or one night stands or things like that, so I decided to do something different. As you all noticed, it won't be easy to bring a child into the world after something so hard and traumatising like that and they are not in love with each other just yet. So we'll have their jorney to build something good after so much darkness and how they'll find their way to each other in the middle of that.**

 **I hope you guys had liked this chapter. Please, let me know. Reviews motivate me to write faster. Like I said, I'll try to not take so long to the next one.**

 **Sorry for any errors.**


	4. Doubts and Possibilities

**A/N: Guys, thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter. They made me really happy and because of that, here is another chapter real fast :)**

 **Just to answer some guests' reviews, I know some of you may not like so much the idea of Emily being preg but that's the essence of this fic, ever since I started writing. We will watch them building their relationship and trying to cope with a baby on the way, first building the trust between them and finally finding some true love on each other.**

 **I'm sorry if it's not what you wanted but, give it a shot. Maybe you'll get surprised.**

Chapter 4: Doubts and Possibilities

His voice rang on her ear. _Do you take the pill?_ Suddenly her legs were too shaky and she could almost hear her heart beating fast and loud like sledgehammer on her chest. She hadn't even thought about this and now she was feeling so stupid and scared that the only thing she could think about was how much she wanted to cry.

She barely noticed Hotch trying to get her attention and guiding her towards the bed, sitting her at the end of it and kneeling in front of her. Her head was spinning with the possibilities of having to deal with the consequences of their abduction. All she wanted to do was to leave everything behind them, forgetting all about this damn city and that psychopath, just trying to move on with their lives and not having to think about what happened between them in that basement.

But now there was a possibility of something more. Now it was pretty damn possible that she would leave this town carrying a living proof of what happened between her and the man in front of her and she didn't know how she was supposed to deal with that. What would happen if she got pregnant with Hotch's baby? What would happen with their jobs? How were they supposed to explain this to the Bureau? Ever since the basement her and Hotch had come to a silent agreement to not divulge the details of what happened between them in their reports.

They both knew that if their superiors find out what happened they would be submitted to a psychological evaluation and their working relationship would be constantly watched to see if there were any residual scars that could jeopardize their work on the field, their trust in each other. Not to mention what Strauss would do to use this piece of information to try once again to destroy Hotch's career, since her plan to use Emily didn't come out the way she expected.

The team was another thing. They knew that they were already suspicious about what had happened during the almost twelve hours they were held captive and they also knew that they wouldn't be able to hide the truth from them forever, so they'd have to come up with a way of telling them what had happened sooner or later because it was better than let their minds wondering innumerous possibilities.

But now? Now with the possibility of her being pregnant how were they supposed to hide this? What was going to happen with their careers? How could they explain what had happened? Would they be allowed to stay on the same team? Would Hotch be reprimanded? What would the team think? How would they cope with a baby? Would she be allowed to be on the field?

Not to mention the other questions not regarding their jobs. How would they raise a child together? How things would work? What would her mother think about that? She always bugged Emily to get her a grandchild but what would she think about Emily being pregnant by her boss? What would Haley think about that? What about Jack? Would he want to have a sibling? Would Hotch even want to involve his son in this? Would Hotch even want to be involved at all?

She knew she was hyperventilating and she startled when two strong hands cupped her face and forced her to look into Hotch's eyes. "Emily!" He said forcefully and she blinked twice, focusing on him. "I need you to breathe for me… can you do that?" He said more calmly and she nodded at him, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, that's it. Just breathe. In and out…" He said while doing the same thing. She took a couple of deep breaths, finally feeling her pulse slowing down. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly, dropping his hands from her face and placing them on her knees.

"Hotch, what am I going to do?" She whispered and there was still a trace of panic on her voice even though she was considerably calmer.

He squeezed her knees and looked deeply into her eyes before answering. "There's no 'I' here, Emily. We're in this together and we'll deal with this together, okay?" He said and she found herself nodding. "First, we need to know for sure. It was just once so there may be a chance that nothing happened…" He reasoned but she shook her head.

"I'm right on that part of my cycle, Hotch. There's a high change that something did happen…" She said quietly and he sighed, dropping his eyes to his hands on her knees.

"We'll have to go to the hospital as soon as we get home to do a blood test. I don't think a pharmacy one will be accurate…" He said and she nodded. "After that, if you're really pregnant, then we'll sit together and we'll decide what we're going to do. Together." He said emphasizing the last word with another squeeze on her knees.

"Okay…" She whispered at him and nodded. They stood right there, in silence, thinking about the ramifications that her possible pregnancy would have and how would they deal with the consequences.

After a few minutes in silence Hotch look at his watch and saw that it was already almost six in the morning. "Do you think you can sleep a couple of hours? We'll take off at ten so we have at least three and a half hours to sleep before having to get ready…" He asked and she nodded slowly at him.

"I think… I don't know… I just honestly don't want to face anyone else right now…" She said and he knew she was talking about JJ and how the blonde agent would still be awake waiting for her.

"Do you want to stay?" He asked quietly and saw the way she was struggling to give him an answer. "It's not like we haven't sleep together before… only this time will be more comfortable…" He said with a slight amused smile and she smiled back at him, thankful at his attempt to once more take her head away from her dark thoughts.

"If you don't mind…" She whispered and he shook his head negatively.

"Absolutely. Do you want to take the first shower?" He asked and she nodded, both of them getting up. "There's the hotel's shampoo and fresh towels under the sink. I have an extra toothbrush on my kit, I think…" He said digging into his go bag. He turned back to her with the new toothbrush and a pair of clean sweatpants and a Harvard t-shirt.

She raised an eyebrow at the t-shirt. "Are you seriously expecting me to wear that?"

He chuckled at her and shoved the items in her hands. "Well, Yale girl, it's the only thing I have clean. Like really, the only. I may have to sleep in only sweatpants. Is that okay?" He asked a little more serious.

Emily looked at the t-shirt in her hand for a few seconds before shrugging. "Well… it's not like I haven't seen you naked yet, right?" She asked with a tentative smile and he nodded at her. "I won't take long…" She said going to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned back against the wood, sighing tiredly. She proceeded to take off her dirty clothes and turned on the hot water, wincing slight at the contact with her skin but relieved for finally washing off the residues of that place.

She washed her hair with the coconut shampoo of the hotel and soaped her whole body, cleaning herself thoroughly. She rinsed her hair and applied a bit of the conditioner, massaging her scalp slowly, enjoying the feeling of cleanness. She finished her shower and dried herself with one of the towers. She used the toothbrush he gave her and brushed her teeth twice, trying to erase any traces of the food she ate there.

When she finished her cleaning process, she noticed that she didn't have a clean pair of panties so she just put the sweatpants without underwear, too sickened to even try to put her dirty ones, and smiled faintly at the small joke putting the Harvard t-shirt. She was immediately drowned in Hotch's essence but she made a huge effort to ignore that and just finished drying her hair and brushing it with a small brush on the top shelf of the cabinet.

She gathered her clothes and hid her panties and bra inside her folded pants, opening the bathroom's door to see Hotch sitting in the end of the bed watching the old carpet floor. "Bathroom's free…" She announced quietly and he snapped his head up, startled at the sound of her voice. "Are you okay?" She asked him, seeing the somber look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He said quietly getting up. "You can lay down... I'll be out in a minute…" He said passing through her and closing the bathroom's door with a low thud. Emily sighed and dropped her clothes on the armchair, walking towards the bed and laying on the right side. She lay there, flat on her back, looking at the celling while she heard the sound of the shower and for some reason it calmed her to the point that she let her eyes drift off and sleep slowly caught her.

She startled with the shift of the bed when Hotch lay down beside her on the left side. She turned on her side to look at him, bare chest and damp hair, and he suddenly appeared so tired and fragile that she felt her eyes watering. Without her knowledge her hand came up to cup his cheek and she looked at him with worried eyes. "Hotch, are you okay?" She whispered in the silence of the room. It wasn't dark anymore, passing six in the morning and the sun was trying to get in behind the curtains.

Hotch brought his own hand to touch hers on his cheek and laced their fingers together, giving it a light squeeze and placing it on the bed between the two of them. "I'm okay…" He whispered back. When she opened her mouth to argue with him he quickly cut her. "Let's get some rest, Emily. We have a long day ahead us and we're both exhausted. We'll talk tomorrow, okay? Or better, later today…" He said with a humorless chuckle.

She just nodded at him and let her eyes drift shut again, allowing herself to a small moment of peace, fearing that things wouldn't be over so soon and that she would need all her strength to face the things that were waiting for them at home. They lay there together, both on their sides facing each other, their hands intertwined between them, while the sun announced the start of a new day outside.

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch was the first to wake up a couple of hours later. He had set his alarm to nine-thirty, giving them enough time to get ready and packed to leave at ten. He turned it off with his free hand and smiled faintly at the sight of his brunette colleague sleeping beside him. At that particular moment she had a peaceful look on her face and he sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be like that for long.

He turned on his back without taking his hands off of hers and looked at the celling, thinking about how things would work out for them from now on.

He almost smiled at the thought of being father again, even in such circumstances. He never expected to be in this situation, ever. When he thought about giving Jack a little sibling was in his sad illusions of finding someone who would be right for him and starting another relationship, this time without so much rancor and deception. He dreamed about getting married again and building something good with a great woman and just then starting a new family.

He never thought about getting his subordinate pregnant, much less in so awful circumstances. Man, Strauss would make a blood bath out of this situation, he was sure of that. The team would be affected and maybe even split up because having this kind of tie between co-workers was deeply frowned up. Their careers would be marked by this case, that was for sure, and things would never be the same.

They had to talk seriously about what they would do because he knew that losing their jobs wasn't an available option for either of them. He knew that they couldn't hide this from the team, it wasn't fair to leave the hanging like that, but if they could at least find a way to leave the Bureau out of this it would be the ideal.

He wasn't surprised by the fact that an abortion didn't even cross his mind. He didn't know Emily's opinion about the subject but he couldn't even think about the possibility of killing his baby. He would never force Emily into anything but he knew that he would do his best to convince her to keep the pregnancy, if that was the case.

With another tired sigh Hotch disentangled his hand from hers and got out of the bed, taking his go bag to the bathroom where he changed into his last clean suit, opting to wear just his dress pants and shirt, without the tie and jacket. When he got out of the bathroom he noticed Emily still sleeping peacefully and decided to go grab them some coffee and take her go bag from JJ's room so she could change.

He grabbed their coffees thankful for knowing how she took hers perfectly, and walked his way back to the team's floor. On his way to JJ's room he spotted the whole team gathered in the middle of the hall, talking quietly in front of Rossi's door. "Morning…" He greeted them and they looked at him with curious eyes. "JJ, could you please give me Emily's bag so she can change?" He asked and the blonde agent nodded quickly, entering her own room and coming back in just a few seconds, bag in hand.

"I had already packed for her when I woke up…" She said passing him the bag. "Is she still sleeping?" She asked hesitantly. Hotch sighed looking at his friends and felt bad for leaving them in the dark imagining things, but he couldn't do that to Emily. They needed to talk first.

"Yes, she was still sleeping when I left the room. We stayed up talking until after six so I let her sleep a little more…" He explained. He started to turn his back to walk away but stopped, looking at their concerned faces again. "I know you all want to know what happened in that basement…" He started. "And yes, something did happen with us there, especially with Emily. No, she wasn't physically harmed and no, that son of bitch didn't touch her while we were there…" He said and saw relieve in their faces. "But something did happen. We won't hide it from you, we just need to talk first and sort some things out before we can tell you what happened." He explained and they nodded. "I'd like to ask you, do not question Emily about that. Do not speak with her about what happened unless she comes to talk to you first. Do not pressure her into anything. Please, advise Garcia of that. Emily needs to process things first and when she's ready, when we're both ready, we will talk to you guys, okay?" He said firmly but somewhat softly and the other profilers just nodded at him.

"Don't worry, man. Just… take care of her…" Morgan said quietly and Hotch nodded.

"She's not alone in this, don't worry." He said. "We'll meet at the lobby in twenty minutes, okay?" He said and walked away when they nodded.

The team stayed in silence watching him get into his room and then looked at each other, all of them noticing the suddenly use of Emily's first name and the way he seemed to protect her ever since they were rescued. They knew that something big had happened but now they also knew that the two agents needed more time to process things before involving them. And the only thing they could do was to respect that.

 **A/N: Next one will be up soon and we'll have their serious talk after Emily's pregnancy test, trying to figure how they will deal with the Bureau, their families and the team. Feel free to send suggestions. I'm sorry for any errors.**


	5. Wait

**A/N: Hello you all again! I'm sorry if I took this long... I was kind of busy. The semester is starting here and vacation time is over, so I'll probably take a little more time to write things. But I'm doing my best, even writing on my cellphone (thank God for WindowsPhone and the Portable Office).**

 **This chapter will mark their return at home and Emily's visit to the doctor. I answered some reviews that questioned me about this but just to clarify, I know that you can't possibly know if you're pregnant after a day and we'll use the real facts here so, no, Em will not find out in this first appointment. Sorry if I made appear that things would happen so fast.**

 **I hope you guys like this piece. I'm sorry for any errors.**

Chapter 5: Wait.

The jet touched the ground a little after two in the afternoon and the SUVs were already waiting for them in the tarmac. It was a Wednesday and Hotch already had a meeting scheduled with Strauss in thirty minutes. The Section Chief had been notified about their abduction by Dave when he was in charge temporarily and she had demanded to see the Unit Chief as soon as they landed.

The team split up into the SUVs and drove straight to the Hoover Building, knowing that they would have a lot of work to do before any of them could go home. They walked into the sixth floor and couldn't help but smile at the sight of their tech analyst all dressed in a dark purple dress with white dots and a lime green cardigan. "Hello my beautiful profilers and my gorgeous blonde media liaison… I missed you here!" She said with a toothy smile.

"We missed you too, baby girl…" Morgan said with a chuckle as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Boss-man, the Ice Queen is walking around the bullpen like hawk the whole morning…" Garcia said looking at Hotch and the dark-haired profiler couldn't avoid a wince.

"I'll go see her in a minute… thank you, Garcia." He said with a nod and looked at the rest of the team. "Let's work on our reports to close this case and if the meeting goes well I can think about asking for the next couple of days off for us…" He said and the others couldn't avoid the hopeful looks. "Emily, can I see you for a second?" Hotch asked looking at the brunette and she nodded at him, following him on his way to his office. The others looked at the couple for a few seconds and saw Hotch leading Emily inside and closing the doors and the blinds.

"Well, then let's get to work… I'd like to get out of here at five for once…" Morgan said dropping his bag under his desk and sinking in his chair. The others soon followed his lead and went to their posts, JJ, Rossi and Garcia to their respective offices and Reid to his desk. As soon as they were alone in the bullpen, Morgan turned to his friend with a somber look. "What do you think that happened with them?"

Reid looked at the closed office for a few moments before answering with a shake of his head. "I have no idea. But if I had to guess, they're trying to find a way to keep it out of Strauss's ears…" He said and Morgan nodded slowly.

"I hope they tell us soon…" Morgan mumbled.

"I just hope they'll be able to get over it soon…" Reid said opening his files.

\\*\\*\\*\

Emily sat at one of the visitors' chairs of Hotch's office while he closed the blinds and dropped his go bag and briefcase under his table. He took off his suit jacket and put it on the backrest of his chair before making his way to the chair beside her, opting to not let a big table between them in this conversation.

"How are you feeling?" Hotch asked looking at her. Her eyes were downcast, looking at her hands playing with the hem of her shirt. She looked up to him with conflicted eyes and shrugged.

"How are we going to deal with Strauss?" She asked, profusely avoiding answering his question.

He sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "I honestly don't know." He started. "We have three possible situations… one, we tell the truth and face the evaluations and any other bureaucratic crap that she'll throw on us; two, we lie and skip that particular detail on our reports and later we find out that you're not pregnant and everything will eventually move into their normalcy; or three, we lie and later we find out that you are indeed pregnant and then we'll have to come up with an explanation about how that happened…" He listed, becoming a little anxious on the last part. "That, considering what you'll decide to do of course…" He couldn't help but fish.

She looked at him with an unreadable expression for a few seconds before letting out a breath. "I wouldn't be able to…" She said shaking her head. "I wouldn't have the courage to abort it… I'd keep it…" She finished quietly. The guilt for what she had done when she was a teenager still eat her alive and she knew she would never be able to do it again.

"Oh, thank God…" She heard Hotch breathe relieved and raised an eyebrow at him. "I would never force you into keep it if you didn't want it, especially in these circumstances, but… just, the thought of you aborting it, I… I don't know how I would cope…" He confessed.

She couldn't help but smile at his sincerity. "I guess you'll want to be involved then..." She said and he frowned at her slightly, leaning in to take her hands with his.

"Emily, there's no such thing as I want to be involved or not. I'm already involved. If you're really caring my baby I will be by your side every single step of the way, no matter what. I'd never abandon my child and I'd most definitely never abandon you..." He said squeezing her hands. "We're in this _together_." He said emphasizing the last word.

"Okay..." She whispered nodding at him as a single tear fell down her cheek.

He wiped it with his thumb and caressed her cheek for a couple of seconds before dropping his hand. "Okay. We need to decide this fast, before Strauss come up here demanding answers. Are we going to tell the truth?" He asked her.

Emily shook her head quickly. "No. She would use it against you and we both know how much she wants to destroy you and what she's capable of doing..." She reasoned and he nodded at her.

"I agree with you but what about if you're indeed caring my baby? How do we explain that?" He asked.

"We both suffered a trauma together. We created a bond... We tried to cope together and that turned into a one night stand." She said. "It's way much easier to deal with a one night stand between us out of the office, out of the working hours and out of cases then to deal with something that happened while we were working." She completed.

Hotch pondered her argument for a few moments before nodding. "I guess you're right... It'll still be hell but it may be easier to get away with it..." He said getting up and taking his jacket. "Okay, I'll go over there and talk to her before she comes down here again. You start working on your report. We stayed unconscious for several hours and when we woke up the unsub kept taunting us and threatening to have some fun with us, playing psychological games and trying to toy with us. He gave us food and water and left and soon after that the team arrived. We never found out what he wanted to do, just that there were some traps in the room ready to harm us..." He said and she nodded in agreement.

"That's fine by me. Are we going to the hospital today?" She asked.

"We can go after my meeting with her. I can work on my files later at home. But, do you really think we'll be able to know it today? I mean, even with the blood test, isn't it too soon?" Hotch asked offering his hand to her to get up.

"Maybe, maybe not. The medicine is really advanced nowadays and honestly is not something I ever looked up to know. The only thing I know is that I need to do something. I can't stand waiting to see if my period is late to do a test... I may go insane if I don't know it soon..." She said getting up and following him to the door.

"Okay. As soon as I'm free with the brat we can go to the hospital... Even if we can't find out right now at least we can get some orientation..." He said unlocking the door. Before he could open it though she grabbed his hand on the doorknob, stopping him.

"When do we tell them?" She asked quietly and he sighed.

"I think it'd be wiser to wait until we know for sure... Depending on the results we can talk and decide how we are going to tell them..." He suggested and she nodded. "Now, I know it's hard but, try to relax a little... I'll try not to take so long, okay?" He said looking straight into her eyes.

"I'll try..." She said and they exited the office, Hotch going straight to his boss's and Emily walking down to the bullpen to get desk. She managed to give her colleagues a reassuring smile before opening her files to start working. If things weren't already too hard, she'd have to relive and describe again in details the nightmare they both lived in that basement. She sighed one last time before grabbing her pen to start writing. The sooner she finished, the sooner she was out of there.

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch rubbed his temples as he walked his way back to the bullpen. After two hours of meeting he finally managed to get out of Strauss office. The woman had been cruel. She had made him describe, in minimal details, everything that had happened from their abduction to their rescue.

After starting to accuse him, not even at least subtly, of being responsible for their abduction, she wanted to know exactly what happened since the minute he woke up. She made him almost quote everything the unsub had said and then proceed to spent almost twenty minutes questioning him about the reasons why he wasn't restrained like Emily and why he hadn't tried to free her from it.

He managed to not send her to hell and just answered her questions patiently, explaining the way Emily's handcuffs were trapped with a metal bar that could easily kill her if he even scratched the lock. Then he explained why the unsub had fed them, saying that he wasn't aiming to let them physically weak but wanted to harm them psychologically, leaving them more vulnerable to his games. He then had to explain to her how the mental torture hadn't worked properly with them because, due to their training as agents and profilers, and how they did manage to keep themselves sane and strong until the team arrived.

After that, he had to spend another half hour explaining why Rossi had had to kill the unsub, swallowing his desire to curse her when she asked if the shooting hadn't been emotionally motivated because of their abduction. Finally, completely drained inwardly because of the constant questioning of his abilities and his sanity, the Section Chief had dispensed him with an order of a psychological evaluation with at least three sections with a Bureau-approved professional for him and Emily and that the reports had been finalized until the next morning.

He had managed to convince her to give the next two days and the weekend off to the team, as long as the reports were finished, and quickly left the office before she could think of something more to do against him.

"BAU team, conference room, please." He said loudly walking straight to the room while his team quickly followed him.

"So... What was the verdict?" Rossi asked when they were all gathered around the round table.

Hotch sighed before answering. "I managed to explain to her what happened and convince her that neither Emily or I were responsible for our kidnapping." He started and raised a hand when Garcia opened her mouth, probably to curse the Section Chief for suggesting such thing. "We both need to go through an evaluation with at least three sessions with a professional pre-approved to prove that we didn't come out of this with any traumas or unresolved feelings." He said looking at Emily and she nodded knowingly at him. "And, I also managed to get us the two next days and the weekend off, as long as our reports are finished until tomorrow morning. So, if you finish your files by the end of the day you just have to come to the office on Monday." He finished and they all were glad for the small favor.

The team eyed their leader and the brunette agent warily, waiting for any signs that could tell them when they would brief them about what happened in the basement. Hotch looked at Emily and she gave him a small nod, walking to his side to face the team with him.

"As I already told you this morning, something in fact happened with us while we were held captive. Emily and I need a few days to sort some things out between us before we can talk to you about it... We decided to not put in our reports what exactly happened in there because we know that Strauss can do a lot of things with that information, things that could jeopardize our team and our jobs. But, you guys are our family and we can't and don't want to keep things hidden from you. We just ask you to have a little patience and wait for us to come to you... Give us some space to deal with this and we promise we won't take long to talk to you..." He said quietly because of their surroundings and they all nodded.

"Don't worry, man... We just want you both to be okay..." Morgan said.

"Thank you, guys..." Emily said quietly and then looked at Hotch. "I already finished my reports..." She said.

"Okay... I'll just grab my things and we can go. I'll work from home tonight and I'll come by tomorrow morning to bring my files..." He said and left to his office.

The team quickly dispersed, those who had already finished just grabbed their things and left and those who still needed to end their reports worked faster to leave sooner.

Hotch came back from his office a couple of minutes later with bag and briefcase in hand and walked down to Emily's desk. "Ready?" He asked her and she nodded. They walked out of the glass doors and into the elevators in silence, avoiding looking at his teammates who were watching them not so discretely.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Emily Prentiss." The nurse called her name and she rose up from her seat, followed by Hotch. She had managed to make an emergency appointment with her OBGYN while he was with Strauss to avoid a visit to the ER.

They walked into the office and a middle-aged blonde woman stood up to greet them. "Emily... It's been a while..." She said with a smile.

"Hi, Dr. Green, thank you so much for agreeing to see me today..." She said shaking the doctor's hand.

"It's no problem at all... You seemed pretty anxious at the phone..." She said gesturing to the two chairs.

"This is my friend, Aaron Hotchner..." She said introducing him. "We work together... He's my boss..." She said and the doctor raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Hotchner." She said shaking his hand.

"Likewise, Dr. Green..." Hotch said with a nod.

"So, Emily... I'm rather curious about the nature of this appointment... What can I do for you?" She asked.

Emily toyed with her purse and struggled for a few moments before speaking. "There's a possibility that I may be pregnant..." She said hesitantly.

"Okay..." Dr. Green said carefully. "How late are you?"

"That's the thing. I'm not..." Emily said and the doctor frowned. "Hotch and I were in a situation yesterday and we ended up having sex... Unprotected sex... And since I haven't been in any relationship for a while, I'm not currently taking any precautions... And I know that I'm in the right time in my cycle, so..." Emily explained.

"I see..." The doctor nodded. "The thing is, Emily, that we don't have a way to know for sure if you two did conceived a baby so soon... Like you said, it's been only a day..."

"Not even that. I was around midnight this night..." Hotch cut her in.

"Even worse... The pregnancy test is made by the observation of a specific hormone that only appears in a woman's organism when she's pregnant. But this hormone only starts to be produced after at least nine days after the conception. The ideal is to do a test only after twelve or fifteen days after the sexual relation." The doctor explained and Emily shook her head.

"I can't... I can't wait that long... I'll go insane..." She said and Hotch took her hand with his.

"Emily... Hey, you need to calm down..." He said soothingly.

"I can't, Hotch... How can you be so calm about this?" She asked with a bit of accusation.

"Trust me, the last thing I am is calm but if we both freak out now it wouldn't be the nicest thing, right?" He reasoned with her and she nodded reluctantly.

The doctor watched the exchange with curiosity. "From what I can see this wouldn't be a welcomed pregnancy, right?" She asked hesitantly.

Emily snapped her head up and stared the doctor with wide eyes. "What? No! It wouldn't be planned but it would be very much welcomed..." She said quickly and Hotch squeezed her hand with another look to ask her to calm down.

"Okay, Emily. I understand... But as I already explained, there isn't much we can do now. The only thing I can do, if you're interested, is recommend you to take some morning-after pills... Since it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since the act it may still work. The spermatozoid stays alive in the organism for five days and the conception can happen anytime during that period." When Emily opened her mouth to say something the doctor quickly added. "If the conception already happened, the pill won't have any effects. It won't do any harm to the embryo and the pregnancy will continue without interferences... It would be just a late preventive measure, there's a change that you're not pregnant yet and that would avoid it to happen, just like the condoms or the birth control pill would have done." She explained.

Emily nodded slowly at her. "Okay... If it's not going to cause any harm to my baby, I'll take it..."

Hotch couldn't avoid the warm feeling in his chest at her words. Even though they were apprehensive with the whole situation, he knew that they would be able to do this together. Part of him was even excited with the idea of being father again and he knew that Emily would be a terrific mother. And the fact that they both lived the same life with the same job would make things even easier because she would be more understanding with his lack of time and all the times he was called away in the most inappropriate moments.

He hadn't noticed that he had spaced out until she squeezed his hand to catch his attention. "Hey…" He said looking at her big concerned eyes.

"Hey… you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I was just thinking…" He said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay, then you just go at the pharmacy and take the pill for now." The doctor said. "You can come back here in ten days and we'll be able to do a conclusive test… please, don't do any pharmacy tests during this time…" She recommended. "It'll just stress you and you really won't be able to get a conclusive result. On urine tests you only can determine a pregnancy after fifteen to twenty days…"

"So, I'll just have to wait…" Emily sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes. There's nothing we can do before this period…" She said nodding.

Emily nodded at her and they left the office after saying their goodbyes. She scheduled a new appointment for ten days from now and went to the pharmacy to get the pills. Hotch drove her home and they chose to stay quiet the whole drive, thinking about the wait they would have to deal and the choices they would have to make once they find out the results.

"Do you want to come in for a while?" Emily suggested politely when they arrived her building. Her eyes were heavy and Hotch could see how drained she was so he shook his head negatively with a smile.

"No… you need to rest, you're too exhausted. And I really want to see Jack. It's been two weeks and it's before his bedtime so maybe Haley will allow me to see him…" He said and she sighed at the vulnerability and sadness in his voice.

She took his hand and squeezed, looking into his eyes. "If we really have this baby, you know I'd never keep it away from you, don't you? I'd never deny your right to see him or her…" She said and Hotch nodded at her.

"I know… and thank you for that, Emily…" He said and she just smiled at him, opening the car's door and wishing him a good night. As he drove off he smiled at the thought of having another baby and again he knew for sure that it would be with an incredible woman. Now they would just have to wait to know.

 **A/N: Next one, I promise, we'll have the real test. And they'll tell the team. I'll try not to take so long. Reviews are awesome and I love them. Please, let me know what you think of this. :)**


	6. I'll be there for you

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter. You guys are incredible and I'm always surprised with the amount of response you always give to me at each chapter. Thank you...**

 **There were some questions about why I decided to hide from Strauss what really happened. I answered in private for a few but for those who reviewed as guests and I couldn't answer, I hope this chapter will clarify my reasons. I'm sorry if it was not what you expected.**

 **This chapter is huge and I could've made it in two chapters but I didn't want to do that with you guys. We finally have the real results and their talk with the team. I hope you guys like it.**

Chapter 6: I'll be there for you.

The next ten days passed way too slowly for both profilers. They spent their days off without contact between them, choosing to finally process things apart and try to understand how they really felt about the possibility of having this kind of bond, a forever tie that would connect them for the rest of their lives.

Hotch also used the break to spend some quality time with his son. Haley, fortunately, didn't make any fuss and allowed him to take the boy from Thursday evening to Sunday night, and the father of one enjoyed the extra time with his boy. He itched to contact Emily at some time but opted to leave the brunette alone for a while, knowing that the following week would already be too hard for her.

Emily spend her days mostly at home, trying to busy her head with her books and her old movie collection but nothing could take her mind away from the possibility of being pregnant. With Hotch's baby.

Not so surprisingly, the more she thought about being indeed pregnant the more she felt happiness and warmth in her heart. It wasn't news to anyone that she'd always dreamt about being a mother. Her experience with children was limited to babysitting for one of her friends when she was in Yale and the couple of times she had seen Henry after he was born a little over six months before, but she always had, in her heart, the certain that she needed that. She needed a miniature version of her to love and cherish and dedicate her life for. She needed that to feel complete and whole and she knew that nothing could ever change that.

She remembered a line she heard watching one of her comedy tv shows once. A line that made her chest ache and eyes burn with tears because it was like the character was speaking about her. The man was trying to convince a woman to allow him and his wife to adopt her baby and he told her that there were a lot of women out there not knowing how to be a mother to their children while his wife was already one. A mother without a baby.

She remembered that she cried hearing those words because she could feel the pain that woman was feeling. She could feel the despair of needing someone to love like her own but not being able to do so. She always thought that it may be some punishment of God because of what she had done as a teenager.

She tried very hard to not think about it but often she caught herself imagining how her life would've been if she hadn't aborted her baby. Her child would be turning to twenty two now and she imagine how their lives would have been if she had been courageous enough to face the reality of having a baby at fifteen.

She didn't know if she would've gone to the justice department or if she would've chosen a more safe career. She didn't know how her parents would react, if her father would've been too disappointed with her and if her mother would've been too angry because of the implications in her political career.

She honestly didn't have a way of knowing how different her life would've been if she hadn't get rid of that little and innocent baby but she knew that it would be a decision she would regret for the rest of her life.

And now, with the chance of her finally being able to live her dream of being a mom, she knew she would do everything she had to do and fight against anyone that stand in her way to guarantee that everything turned out right this time.

When the team went back to work on Monday there was still a heavy feeling in the air. It was rather obvious how much the team was curious to know what her and Hotch were hiding but, fortunately they were being discreet and respectful about their need of time to sort things out.

Hotch and Emily's psychological evaluation was scheduled to start on Wednesday but because they got a case in Oregon on Tuesday, it had to be rescheduled to the following week. The case helped a little to get things into some normalcy inside the team, all of them thankful for having something concrete to keep their minds busy.

They worked on the case for the next five days, only getting back home on Saturday afternoon. Hotch send everyone home and told them that their reports could wait until Monday, but called Emily into his office before she could leave.

"Tomorrow makes ten days since the appointment. Are we going back there on Monday?" He asked as soon as the door was closed.

"I actually called Dr. Green earlier today. I made an appointment first thing in the morning on Monday. She said I can go to take the blood and when the result is ready she'll call me. It takes two hours..." Emily explained and he nodded.

"Okay. Do you want me to pick you up?" He asked and she hesitated.

"You really don't have too... I mean, I'll only take the blood. I'll have to schedule another time with her depending on the results..." She said but he was already shaking his head.

"I'll go with you, Emily. You'll be nervous as hell and I know it. I won't leave you alone..." He said and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"Thank you..." She whispered.

"You don't need to thank me... Go home and get some rest. I got a call earlier from the psychologist's office and our meeting was rescheduled for Tuesday morning. Mine is at 9 and yours is at 11." He told her and she nodded. "So, I'll pick you up at 7 on Monday?" He suggested.

"That's fine by me... Thanks again..." She said with a small smile before leaving the office. She made her way to the elevators quickly, the now usual butterflies on her stomach everytime she thought about the possible pregnancy stronger than ever.

One day. She had to go through just one more day before knowing.

\\*\\*\\*\

The whole Sunday passed like a blur to both Emily and Hotch and before they knew it was already Monday morning and they were on their way to the clinic. Emily was a mess of nerves and couldn't stop shifting on her seat and tapping her foot.

She was startled when Hotch's hand caught hers on her lap and squeezed it supportively. She smiled at him and squeezed it back and they didn't pulled apart the whole rest of the drive. When they got into the clinic Emily didn't have to wait not even five minutes before the nurse came calling her name and leading her to an exam table.

She took two blood samples and told her that as soon as the results were ready the doctor would call her. Hotch drove Emily back to her place to pick her car and then followed her through the ten minutes drive to the BAU. They walked into the sixth floor a little over eight and noticed that for once they were the last ones to arrive.

Ignoring the questioning glances from their teammates they quickly focused on their jobs, Hotch going straight to his office and Emily sitting on her table, grabbing the first file from her pile and opening it. She forced herself to concentrate but she keep looking at her watch and her phone at every two minutes.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw her phone ringing and the name of her doctor flashing on the display. Her hands were shaking when she pressed the incoming button and she answered with a shaky voice. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Emily. I'm with your results here." Dr. Green said and in that moment she knew she couldn't do it alone and especially not right in the middle of the bullpen.

"Can you give me a minute?" She asked and with the doctor's affirmative answer she got up and walked her way up to Hotch's office. She knocked once on the door and opened it, without waiting for a reply.

One look at her face and Hotch knew the reason of her invasion and quickly got up from behind his desk and approached her, thankful that he had closed his blinds earlier.

Emily put the phone on speaker and Hotch grabbed her free hand, supportively. "Okay, Dr. Green. What's the results?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well... I believe I can tell you congratulations, Emily. You're going to be a mom..." The doctor said and Emily barely managed to keep the phone from falling.

"I'm... I'm pregnant?" She asked quietly, looking at Hotch with big wide eyes.

"You definitely are." She confirmed. "Please, call Joanne in the reception and make an appointment for later this week. We can talk more and do some tests to see if everything is okay with both of you..." She could hear the doctor talking but the words weren't making any sense in her ears.

She barely notice Hotch taking the phone from her hand and finishing the talk with the doctor. Her eyes were blurry and her heart was racing. She couldn't believe that it was really true. She was going to have a baby.

She was pregnant and there was a little human being growing inside of her.

And she was absolutely terrified.

Deliciously terrified.

She blinked when she felt Hotch shaking her shoulders slightly to catch her attention. "Emily!"

"Hey..." She whispered when her eyes met his.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

"I'm going to be a mom..." She whispered to him while her lips started to turn upwards in a small smile.

"You will..." He whispered back with a smile of his own. He pulled her closer and enveloped her into a hug, running his hands over her back. She closed her eyes and buried her face on his neck, sighing heavily.

"I can't believe it..." She whispered after a few moments.

"How are you feeling?" He asked again.

"Terrified..." She said pulling back to look at him. At his frown she quickly shook her head and smiled. "It's a good terrified." She assured him. "I'm going to be a mom... I'm finally going to be a mom..." She said, the last word coming with a small sob. A thought passed through her head and her smile widened. "And it's not with a loser... Or a jerk. Or even an anonymous donor. It's with a good guy... A very good guy..."

Hotch blinked and chuckled at her. "Well, I'm glad..." He said and pulled her into another hug. "And I'm one-hundred percent sure that you'll be a terrific mother..." He said quietly into her ear.

They stood in their embrace for a few more minutes before Emily pulled back and looked at him warily. "What are we going to do now?" She asked.

"We need to talk and decide our plan for now on. Obviously, I think it'd be the best if we keep this information from the Bureau for a couple of months. It would be the time when you'd find out in a normal situation..." He said and she nodded in agreement. "But I think we should tell them right away..." He said looking at his blinds.

"I agree. They're being so understanding... It'd be cruel to leave them in the dark like this much longer. And we're going to need their support..." Emily said.

"I don't think we should discuss this here..." He said quietly.

"Let's invite them to my place tonight. We can order some take out and have a private environment to talk properly..." She suggested and he nodded. Before they could talk further there was a knock in the door. Hotch walked back to behind his desk before called the person to come in.

JJ opened the door carrying a file. "I'm sorry guys. We have a case. It's just a consult right now but they need us immediately..." She said and Hotch nodded.

"Gather everyone at the round table, JJ. We'll be right there..." He said and the blonde left nodding. "We'll talk to them after the briefing..." Emily nodded and they both walked to the conference room.

The case didn't go further than a consult, thankfully, and they finished it a little after three. "Good job, everyone. Let's just finish our files and we all can leave at five." He said. Emily looked at him and nodded once. "Uh... We'd like to invite you all to Emily's place tonight... We have some things to talk about it and here isn't the most appropriate place..." He said and said his teammate's eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Shall we meet there later, at seven-thirty?" He suggested and they all nodded. He finished the meeting with one last look at Emily and left to his office.

Emily followed his lead soon after, going back to her desk an opening a file while the others took a little more time to disperse. "Do you think they'll finally tell us what happened?" Garcia asked Morgan with wide eyes.

"I sure hope so, sweetness. I sure hope so."

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch rang Emily's doorbell around seven-twenty that evening with three boxes of pizza in his hand. "Hey..." She smiled slightly at him when she opened the door.

"I hope you have the drinks..." He said getting inside. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner. Since we left right at five I managed to take Jack to dinner before his bedtime..." He explained and she waved off his concern with a smile.

"Don't worry about it. How is he?" She asked motioning for him to put the boxes on the coffee table.

"He's okay, thanks... He spent the whole dinner showing me how he learned to say the whole alphabet backwards..." He said with a chuckle while he took off his leather jacket and gave it to her hang it.

"He just turned to three, right?" She asked taking the jacket. "Leather?" She asked with an amused eyebrow.

"Yes, he did. He's just too damn smart..." He said proudly. "And yes, Emily. I do own a leather jacket. Actually I have two of them..." He said and she chuckled.

"Mmm, badass..." She mocked him and he glared at her playfully. "Sorry... It's just weird. I honest to God thought you had a suit tattooed in your skin..."

"Funny, Prentiss. Despite of what people may think, I don't sleep in a suit. I own a bunch of pair of jeans, sweatpants, t-shirts, polo shirts, pullovers and sweaters, okay? My wardrobe is quite varied, for your information..." He said with a mock stern voice and she laughed at him.

"Okay, Tim Gunn, I will not doubt of your fashion knowledge anymore..." She said and he chuckled with her. The doorbell rang again, interrupting their moment and Emily looked at him hesitantly.

"Everything will be okay, Em..." He assured her and she nodded, going towards her front door.

She opened and chuckled at the sight of all her friends waiting on the hall. "Are you guys saving some fuel?"

Rossi chuckled and stepped inside, leaning down to give her a quick peck on her cheek before answering. "We just thought it would be better if we all arrived together, you know... To avoid having to wait until everyone arrived..." He explained and she nodded thankfully.

"Come on in... Hotch is already in the living room... He brought pizza..." She said taking everyone's coats and hanging them at the small closet.

"Mmm, free food, now that's what I was taking about..." Morgan teased while they arranged themselves on the living room. Morgan, Garcia and JJ opted to sat at the big couch while Reid sat on the floor beside them and Rossi sat at one of the armchairs. Emily and Hotch sat side by side in the loveseat and she felt her palms starting to sweat with nervousness.

"You guys want to eat first?" Emily suggested and Rossi shook his head.

"I think we already pulled his off too much. We can easily eat and talk at the same time and I rather eat cold pizza, anyway..." He said and the others nodded in agreement.

She looked at Hotch and her eyes told him that she didn't want to be the one to relate everything to them. He nodded understanding at her and took a deep breath before starting.

"As you all are aware, when Emily and I woke up she was handcuffed on the floor and I was free..." He started and they nodded. "Well, there was a reason for him to keep me out of restrains..." He said with a shaky voice. Emily took his hand with hers supportively and squeezed it. He looked at her and she nodded at him, nudging him to continue. "You guys remember that the coroner said that none of the victims showed any signs of sexual abuse, but that they had had relations recently and we assumed that it had happened before their abduction?" He asked.

"Yeah... The DNA confirmed that they had had sex with each other and it had been consensual..." Morgan said frowning.

Hotch dropped his eyes to the floor before continuing, unable to look at their faces. "We were wrong... They indeed had sex with each other but it while they were held captive..." He said quietly.

"You mean..." JJ started but was unable to finish.

"After we woke up, the unsub gave us food and water and even some supplies to clean ourselves a little and treat our injuries. After that, he started to talk, saying that he wanted to have some fun with us, but he was a very sensitive guy, who liked reciprocity." Hotch said still not looking up. "He gave me three options. First, I could choose to have relations with Emily while he watched. Second, he would knock me unconscious while he'd come down and take advantage of her. And third, he would press the button to release the trap that was ready to kill Emily..." He finished and the whole team gasped at him.

"Oh God..." Garcia whispered while her eyes filled with tears.

Hotch shook his head, his own eyes blurring with tears of shame for what he was saying. "He gave me thirty seconds to think... I... I couldn't..." He started to say but was unable to finish it.

Emily squeezed his hand and looked at her friends, cataloguing their expressions, going from shock to anger. "I asked him to not let him touch me... I begged him to do it because I knew I wouldn't be able to cope if that man touched me..." Emily said with a quiet voice.

"So you did it..." Rossi said looking at Hotch.

He nodded his head, finally managing to look up to his friends. They were all shocked to see the tears in his eyes and the broken look on his face. "I did it... I couldn't let him harm her... I couldn't let him touch her like that..." He said.

"You did good, Aaron. You did what you had to do to protect her... Don't beat yourself for that..." Rossi said to the Unit Chief and Emily smiled thankfully at him.

"That was why you didn't want me near you when we got there..." Morgan said understanding.

"I'm sorry for that... I was in shock I think... I only saw a big guy coming towards me and I panicked..." Emily explained.

"Don't worry about, princess." Morgan smiled at her.

"I just don't get one thing..." Reid said. "Usually in cases with sexual abuse the victims can't stand the presence of someone who is similar to the abuser. But you seemed to be more comfortable with Hotch than ever... How is that possible?" He asked and Emily fought with the urge to snap at him when she saw Hotch flinching at the word abuser.

"It's because didn't abuse me, Reid. He didn't take advantage of me and I'm definitely not afraid of him. On the contrary... He saved me and tried his best to take my head out of that place, even covering my ears so I couldn't hear the disgusting things that man was saying... I feel safe and comfortable around him because rather than being my villain, he is my savior..." Emily said firmly.

"I didn't mean to..." Reid stammered before lowering his eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, Reid. I questioned her myself already... I understand what you mean..." Hotch said.

"Well, now I understand your decision of keeping this away from Strauss..." Rossi said with a knowing look.

"But why? They were both forced to do that... They can't be blamed of that..." Morgan argued.

"That's true. But as you well said, they were forced to do that. Things like that leave scars... You guys saw how much she questioned their mental state after we got back without even knowing that. If she was aware of what they had to do she would have ground to recommend a more deeper psychological evaluation, being about to take them out of field until they finished it. We all know how it is much harder to recovery from a psychological trauma then a physical one. And things are even harder when it's a sexual situation... And even if we know that Aaron didn't abuse Emily, in her mind he did have relations with her without her consent, especially because she was restrained and he was not. She could use that to question their ability to work together as boss and subordinate because of Hotch's position of power over Emily. I'm not saying that she would be able to fire them or even suspend them... Probably not. But she would do her best to make things as harder as possible for a while. She could even suggest that maybe it wouldn't be the best to keep them working together, just in case they had some emotional scars that could jeopardize their work on the field..." Rossi explained.

"Exactly. And Strauss has a personal problem with me and Emily already so she would definitely do everything she can to make our lives miserable..." Hotch said with a nod.

"Well, you guys don't have to worry. We'll never say a word about this..." Morgan said and Emily looked a Hotch.

"Yeah... That's not everything..." Emily said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked with a frown.

Emily took a deep breath before speaking, smiling slightly at the squeeze on her hand. "Well... You and Garcia know better than anyone how my love life had been the next couple of years..." She started and Garcia snorted.

"Inexistent." She said and chuckled along with JJ.

"Exactly... And since I hadn't been with anyone for over a year, I wasn't taking any precautions..." She said hesitantly.

There was a confused silence in the room followed by a gasp. "Oh God." She locked her eyes with JJ and knew that she had understood. "Are you..."

"I'm pregnant..." She completed and several gasps were heard.

"Oh my God..." Garcia whispered with wide eyes.

"Are you sure?" Rossi asked.

"Yes... We went to the doctor the day we got back but there was no way of knowing so soon... She gave me some morning-after pills in case the conception hadn't happened yet but apparently Hotch's little swimmers are fast..." She said with a chuckle. "I made a blood test this morning... I'm really pregnant..." She finished.

"And how do you two expect to explain that?" Morgan asked.

"We'll wait a couple of months to bring it up to the Bureau because it would be the normal period for Emily to find out..." Hotch said. "We decided to say it was a one night stand..." He finished.

"Can I suggest you something?" Rossi asked. At Hotch's nod he continued. "Put this before the case. Say it was a one night you two had together a week before we left for the case... That way it can't be related to it and there's nothing she can do other than the procedure..."

"Which would be?" Morgan questioned.

"People think that the fraternization rules at the Bureau are too hard or rigid... The truth is that the only thing they're interested is in avoiding a sexual harassment suit. Even the Director got married with his ex-assistant while she still worked for him... As long as Emily doesn't make any complaints against me, there's no punishment. Of course, I can't be responsible for the decisions related to her anymore, especially because of our baby... We'll have to pass her evaluations to Dave, who's the only other senior profiler..." Hotch explained.

"So you really pretend to keep it?" Morgan asked.

"Abortion is not even an option, Derek..." Emily said firmly, unconsciously placing a hand on her stomach in a protective manner.

"And you pretend to be involved?" He asked at Hotch, who frowned at him.

"I will pretend you didn't ask that..." He answered with his patented glare and the dark profiler just raised his hands.

"Just asking, man..." He said. "I just wanted to say that you guys can count on me for anything you need... We're a family and we're in this together... We'll protect you two and our little nephew or niece from everyone and everything..." He said with a smile.

"Thank you, Morgan... That means a lot..." Hotch said with a small smile.

"Can I just say one thing?" Garcia asked hesitantly. When Emily and Hotch nodded she opened her mouth in a wide grin. "This will be the most gorgeous baby ever!" She squealed and they all chuckled. "Seriously, with their dark hair, Emily's mouth and boss-man's eyes..." She said excitedly.

"Don't forget the dimples..." JJ said.

"Ohhh, that's right! Double dimples!" She said clapping her hands.

Emily laughed truly and fully for the first time in almost two weeks and it felt incredibly good. They ate their pizza together and talked about how they would deal with another pregnant woman in the team so soon after JJ, laughing when Emily threatened to shoot Hotch if he went too overprotective towards her and when Hotch widened his eyes when Garcia said how much she was planning to spend with gifts for their baby.

It was almost eleven when they decided to call it a night and leave, all of them giving both brunettes congratulatory hugs and offering their help with anything. Soon it was just Emily and Hotch again and he helped her to clean everything before leaving. She walked him to the door and he put his jacket, chuckling at her amused smile remembering their earlier talk.

"We still have a lot to discuss, but for now, please, keep in mind that everything is okay and try to get some rest, okay?" Hotch asked her when she opened the door for him.

"Will do. You too, sleep well..." She said smiling at him.

"I will..." He said and surprised her by leaning down to press a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Good night, Emily..."

"Night, Hotch..." She said and closed the door. She couldn't avoid the smile that threatened to form on her lips. For the first time ever since she woke up in that basement she felt light and confident that things would be okay. She wasn't alone in this.

 **A/N: Just to clarify, this story sets right in the middle of season four, right after JJ got back from her maternity leave. I still don't know if I'm going to include Demonology and especially Omnivore here. I don't know yet how to include Foyet properly. I'm open to suggestions.**

 **Another thing. Some of you may have noticed that I excluded the whole Doyle/Declan thing here. In this story Emily never worked on JTF-12 and never met Ian Doyle. I don't know how far on the show I'll go but I don't want to include this particular detail in this fic. I'm currently working on something based on season six so I'll focus on that.**

 **Please, let me know what you think about this chapter. Reviews are incredibly appreciated.**

 **I'm sorry for any errors.**


	7. How do you feel about that?

**A/N: Hey everyone. Thank you all for your reviews and since some of them were from guests and I couldn't answer it, I'll do it here, okay?**

 _ **Answer to guest review: Hey you. I'm sorry but I can't imagine Emily being scared of her pregnancy. Even though it was a traumatic experience, I think her motherly instinct here would speak louder. Of course there was the first shock because it was not something she was expecting but in the end, the desire she always had to be a mother wouldn't allow her to be anything but happy about it. Even with the circumstances. Of course, she will have to addapt, along with Hotch. But I can't picture her actually being scared of it, sorry.**_

 _ **Answer to guest review: I promise I'm working on UO's sequel already. I'm really busy with work so it's taking a little more than I thought it would but I'm working on it. About the other version of WHIA, I'm really excited about the idea, but I think I won't be able to work it so soon. I definitely intent to, just not right now.**_

 _ **Answer to guest review: Maxwell, I didn't delete your review or any reviews on this fic. You can go look for it because it's probably there or there was a problem with the website, but I didn't delete it. I did delete other reviews in previous fics because they offended me and accused me of things I didn't do, but in this work I didn't delete anything. And I won't delete yours now because you have every right to enjoy my work or not. Let me just clarify something... I LIKE to ask for my readers opinion while I writing because I think it makes my work better. I don't write just for myself because if I did I wouldn't even post it here. I enjoy the interaction with my readers and if you don't understand that, I'm sorry, but it's how I like to work. I do have a plot ready for this fic, but since it's not finished yet, I'm open to suggestions always. I know all the authors you mentioned but I'm sorry, I'm not them. Don't come and say that I don't write with my heart because you don't know anything about me. I love what I do and I love to hear what people think about it, not because it will make me better or worse than anyone but because I'm HUMAN and I like to interact with people. I will keep asking for my reviews, even knowing that they don't make it a good fic, not matter how many they are, but they make me happy because I can see my work affecting lives out there. I can see people getting involved and crying and laughing along with me because of what I write and to me that's the most precious thing. You have every right to keep reading or stopping it any time. I'd really like for you to give it a shot but I can't force anyone to enjoy my work. And just to finish, there wasn't anything magical in Emily's pregnancy. The conception can happen in the same day of the sexual relation and you can know if you're pregnant or not with a blood test after ten days of the conception. Women just take weeks to do a test because it's when the symptoms start, but if you know the date of the unprotected sex you can do the test before. It's the facts, I didn't invented anything. Take care!**_

Chapter 7: How do you feel about that?

"Good morning, Agent Hotchner..." Dr. Hunter greeted him when he entered the office. It was his first session with the bureau psychologist to talk about his abduction with Emily.

"Good morning, Dr." Hotch answered politely taking a seat at one of the chairs.

"It's been almost two weeks since the end of the case, right?" The doctor asked and Hotch nodded. "And how are you feeling these last few days?"

"I'm feeling okay... We had some time off after we got back and I used it to spend with my son..." Hotch answered truthfully.

"That sounds nice... How old is he?" He asked genuinely curious.

"Three."

"That's a good age... Do you see him often?"

"Not nearly as often as I wish but I make an effort to talk to him every day and see him the most I'm able to..." Hotch answered.

"I understand... The job as an agent it's not very conductive to the family duties, right?"

Hotch hesitated a little bit before answering. "Not really, but I try..."

"I'm sure you do, Agent..." He said nodding understanding. "I can see, though, that you are often exposed to danger and risky situations... How do you feel about that? Considering that you have a child to think about, how do you see your actions in the field affecting your life as a father?"

Hotch, who wasn't liking the way those questions were turning, frowned. "I try my best to be careful, following the procedures and using my training to assure that nothing bad will happen. Of course, we're not always successful but the job needs to be done and I do what I think is my call..." He explained.

"I know you're probably thinking what this has to do with your abduction, which is the reason for this meeting." The doctor said and Hotch nodded once. "I'm just trying to understand how you feel about your job and how it interferes in your personal life, like it did on this last case. The way you take your responsibilities and their implication in your life allows me to understand how you'd respond to a more drastic situation..." He explained.

"I understand..." Hotch nodded.

"Now let's focus on the case... I read your reports but I'd rather have you to tell me what happened, right now... Would you be okay with that?" He asked and Hotch nodded, starting to tell him everything that happened, except the detail between him and Emily.

"... and then we heard a loud bang and a shout and it was the team arriving to rescue us. Dr. Reid shut down all his system and we managed to release Prentiss without any problems..." He finished the story.

"I see..." He said with a nod. "Agent Hotchner, I am in no way a profiler, but from my knowledge as a psychologist it's clear to me, from what I read in your personal files and the little I could observe in our talk, that you're what we can classify as an alpha male." Hotch raised a slight eyebrow at this but conceded. "I understand that watching your colleague, your female colleague, handcuffed on the floor without being able to do anything to help her hadn't been easy..." He said and Hotch again nodded. "Can you tell me how did you feel about that? How did you feel about not being able to do anything for her?" The doctor asked and Hotch lowered his eyes to the floor, the question hitting home in more ways than what the doctor meant.

"I felt powerless, helpless... I tried to help her but the unsub kept threatening to kill her if I even scratched the lock... I tried to give her some comfort... I fed her and cleaned her with the tissues he gave us and I tried to help her finding a better position to rest but in the end I couldn't do much to help her... I wasn't able to do so..." Hotch said truthfully.

"Do you feel responsible for what happened, Agent?" The doctor asked after a few seconds.

Hotch pondered the best way of answering. "I feel frustrated for not noticing that he revisited the dumping sites... We hadn't profiled that and if we did we would have put some surveillance at the places and we'd have paid more attention when we went there... Especially since Prentiss and I fit the victimology."

"So you see what happened as a fail in your work as a team of profilers?" The doctor asked and Hotch winced inwardly at the sound of that.

"Not a fail... We had missed some points in the MO before... Sometimes there's no way of knowing exactly the way the unsub acts until we catch them... It's all a case of information and we didn't have any evidence of him returning to the dumpsites. Unfortunately, in this case our lack of knowledge of this little piece of the profiled allowed us to be vulnerable at him... It's something we can work hard to not let it happen again but sadly we sometimes have no way of knowing..." Hotch explained.

"I see..." The doctor nodded. "I understand that what you and Agent Prentiss went through was something that leaves marks, either we like it or not, either we acknowledge them or not... Can you tell me, honestly, if you think that what you experienced with her in that basement will have influence in your actions on the field, towards her, from now on?" He asked and Hotch frowned a little. "Experiences like this create a bond, Agent. Either we are aware or not. Do you think that what you two lived in this case will affect the way you see her, specifically, in the field? Do you think you'll be more attentive to things concerning her?"

Hotch looked at the doctor for a few seconds, pondering his question and the best way of answering. He knew he would be more attentive to her, not only because of their baby but also because seeing her like that, vulnerable, had instigated his protective side towards her. It was impossible to ignore the feeling of helplessness he felt when he couldn't do anything for her.

"I was always very protective of my team... I know that sometimes is not encouraged to think of them as more than coworkers because of our ability to be objective but in my team we all consider ourselves as family. That's one of the things that make us work so well, I believe. And I always did my best to protect all of them in the field, especially the women. It's natural of me to do that, it's the way I was raised. But I have to confess that this last experience made me a little more attentive to Prentiss, yes... She is a fantastic agent, always was. She saved my life a couple of times already. I watched her taking the lead to save her colleague and she was severely beaten for that. I admire her as an agent and as a woman already but yes, I think I'll be more concerned to keep her, in particular, safe while we're on the field. I don't know if it will be permanent... Probably at least for the next couple of months, while is too soon... But, yes, I believe I will..." He answered, choosing to say the truth because he knew the doctor knew.

"And if something happened to her again, on your watch. What would you do?" He asked.

It didn't take two seconds before Hotch answered. "I would do anything in this world to save her. But I can assure you that I would do that even before the last case." He said firmly and there wasn't a doubt that it was true.

/*/*/*/

The three following weeks passed rather quickly at the BAU. The team caught a case on Tuesday evening and they had to stay out of state for more than two weeks. As soon as they returned from the case Strauss demanded that Emily and Hotch finished the psychological evaluation, since they had managed to go to only one session until then.

Emily entered the Dr.'s office two days later to her last session. On the day before she had made the second one and now she only had one more hour before she could close the case definitely, at least for the Bureau.

Things between her and Hotch had been quite well since the case. Rather than creating a thick barrier between them, a bad environment, it had actually brought them closer. She could see, daily, the small changes in their interactions and the way her once cold and closed Unit Chief seemed to open himself more and more to her.

She could see in the small things like the way he made sure to ask her how she felt at least once a day, or how he would be more attentive to when she was tired or sad or bothered with something. How he would call her at least once if they were at home on the weekend and how he passed to be careful and protective towards her on the field, even if the last one bothered her sometimes.

She noticed that he also started to interact with the whole team more, coming to the breaking room on lunch time to eat with them more often or going out with them to eat while they were on the field. It were some really subtle changes that made her think that maybe things would really be okay in the end.

"Hello, Agent Prentiss... How are you today?" Dr. Hunter asked when she entered the room.

"I'm okay, thanks... A little tired, of course, but okay..." She answered.

"Well, this is our last session as you are aware and today I'd like to talk to you about the future." He said and Emily frowned confused. "We already talked a lot about what happened and how you feel about that... We talked about your nightmares and how you were feeling about them... By the way, are they really gone?" He asked.

"Two weeks without one, thank God..." She answered truthfully. She had indeed suffered from nightmares in the first two weeks after the case, not every night but somewhat often. She had been honest with the doctor when he asked because it would be useless to lie since he knew it was normal to have them after such experience. She had opted to not tell Hotch about them, to avoid him feeling guilty about it, but she was sure that the profiler had at least suspicions about it.

"That's very good. And how do you analyze the dynamics on your work in the last couple of cases?" He asked. "Do you see any relations or concerns about it?"

"I think it was okay..." Emily shrugged. "I hadn't tried to ignore it or pretend that never happened... I actually tried to be more attentive, using what happened to make me pay more attention to the details and try to think about the other possibilities to have the most ground covered as possible..." She explained.

"I see... And your interactions with Agent Hotchner? How is that going?"

Emily was aware of what he was trying to ask so she tried to answer it the more close to the truth and giving him something she knew he wanted, without jeopardizing Hotch. "It's been okay... Hotch was always a very protective leader and that hadn't changed. Of course I can see the way he tries to pay more attention in my position sometimes... I believe it's because it's still soon and he still feels the need of protecting me... But other than that I don't see him treating me any different or changing our dynamics on the field. He still sends me to the dumpsites and to do interviews and even to capture the suspect, the way he always did..."

"And how do you feel about him?" He asked bluntly and Emily frowned.

"I'm sorry?"

"How do you feel when you're on the field with him? Do you still feel safe?" He asked.

Emily looked at him for a few seconds before answering. "I'm known as someone who's very selective about those who I trust. I don't have a good experience with figures of power and I don't often open myself to anyone. When I first joined Hotch's team our relationship wasn't really healthy because both of ours trust issues. But after sometime we got to know each other and we learned to trust on each other. I honestly haven't worked with a man like him ever. He's protective and loyal and he knows how to lead a team without making them feel inferior. I can tell you, one-hundred percent sure, that I trust him with my life, the same way I trust any other person on my team. What happened in that case didn't change that. Not even a little..." She said confidently and she knew in her heart that it was the most absolute truth.

/*/*/*/

The team was returning from Massachusetts after finishing another case, one week after the end of their sessions. Their case was finally closed to the Bureau and Dr. Hunter gave them both the okay they needed to stay on the field without any doubts. Strauss hadn't been happy about it but relented, knowing that there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

Unfortunately, because of their lack of free time between cases and their reports, Emily hadn't managed to return to her doctor after her positive test. She had spoke with her on the phone once to ask a few questions about the way she should proceed, the things she would be allowed or not to do, her eating habits and even her work on the field, but she was anxious to have a proper appointment, to do a scan if possible and know a little more about her baby. She placed a hand on her stomach with a happy sigh. She was now with a little over five weeks now and according to the doctor she would even be able to hear her baby's heart beating already.

Hotch watched Emily from his seat. He knew that she was probably antsy for not being able to schedule an appointment with her doctor. They had talked on the night before and she had said that she would try to schedule it for as soon as they got back from the case.

The dynamic between the two agents had changed visibly and the rest of the team had noticed it. Although they were still very professional on the field, it didn't go unnoticed the looks between them and the way their leader seemed to be dragged at the brunette agent all the time. His concern at her well-being, although it hadn't overpassed the normal boundaries, was evident to anyone who knew them.

The most evident change was the constant use of Emily's first name. Except from when he introduced her to someone, Hotch started to use Emily's name all the time, as if he had always done. Emily hadn't adhered to the change, though, still using Hotch's nickname like the rest of the team. No one would admit that there was a bet between them about when she would start calling him Aaron, though.

The team often smiled at the complete obliviousness of his actions. He would unconsciously make sure to give Emily water and food through the day and anytime she even showed any signs of discomfort or tiredness he would quickly suggest a break. Emily had noticed of course and even though it bothered her a little, since she wasn't used with being taken care of, she hadn't done anything to stop him because she knew it wasn't mean to piss her off or annoy her, it was just his gentlemanly nature.

This was why she wasn't surprised when he got up from his seat and walked towards her, sitting at the vacant seat beside her and patting her knee to catch her attention. "Hey..." She looked up and gave him a small smile. "You okay?"

"I'm okay... Just tired..." She nodded quietly.

"Are you having trouble to sleep?" He asked concerned.

"No, I'm not..." She answered quickly with a smile. "Just... Two long cases and Strauss and the evaluation and everything... I guess I'm just trying to absorb everything, you know..." She explained and he nodded understanding.

"I get it... It's been some really long weeks..." He said with a sigh. "I'll try to get us at least the next weekend off-call."

"That'd be really good..." She nodded.

"Did you manage to make that appointment with Dr. Green?" He asked.

"I called her before we took off. She'll be free tomorrow at four-thirty." She said nodding. "Do you think it'd be okay if I leave early?"

"I think both of us will be able to leave early with no problem..." He said, emphasizing his presence.

Emily knew better than to argue so she just smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, if you're sure..."

"We'll be landing in fifty minutes, I think..." He said looking at his watch. "You should try to take a nap..." He suggested.

"I will try to get some rest..." She nodded with a smile. He patted her knee again and got up, walking towards the bathroom. He then went to the small kitchen to grab a bottle of water and walked back to his previous seat, smiling as he passed through a sleeping Emily on his way.

He grabbed a blanket and turned back to her, covering her with it and brushing a small lock of hair that was over her face. She shifted a bit but didn't wake up, just curled a little more on her seat and snuggled into the blanket. Hotch couldn't avoid the small turn of his lips at her antics and quickly walked back to his seat and started working on his files.

Rossi, who had watched the scene, smiled at his friend's gesture. It was so obvious the change in their Unit Chief but he wasn't sure if the man himself had noticed it. It wasn't like he started to joke around or smile like Cheshire Cat all the time. He was still the stoic boss, with whom no one ever dared to mess with. But it was evident the shift in his behavior when the dark-haired agent was involved. It was like his protective and caring self took charge and needed to take care of all her needs and everything, even when he wasn't asked for.

And if he has to guess, this part of him would only grow stronger and stronger and that would make some really interesting months ahead of them.

 **A/N: So, we had a look at their sessions and the team is starting to notice their interactions changing. Next chapter we'll have Emily's first real appointment, will a sonogram and everything. I hope you guys had liked it, please let me know. Reviews are incredible appreciated and they motivate me.**


	8. Are you hearing that?

**A/N: Holy cow! Seriously guys, thank you so freaking much for all your reviews, all your support, everything. I don't have words to express how much it means to me. Really, thank you.**

 **I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for the delay. But here is a new and fresh chapter. :) We'll have her appointment and a small dinner-talk between our two favorite agents. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **I'm sorry for any errors.**

Chapter 8: Are you hearing that?

"Come in…" Hotch's voice called through the closed door and Emily opened it, poking her head inside.

"Hey. It's pass four already. We need to get going if we don't want to be late…" She said and he immediately looked at his watch, dropping his pen and closing his file.

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry… I got caught up in these reports to Strauss and lost the track of time…" He said standing up and putting his suit jacket on.

Emily entered the office properly and closed the door behind her. "Hotch, if you're too busy I can go by myself today with no problem… we'll have a lot of appointments in the next few months…" She offered but he quickly shook his head, grabbing his briefcase and starting to fold his files inside it.

"Absolutely not. I want to go, Emily. You're not the only one who's anxious for this appointment… I can easily work on these files later tonight at home or tomorrow morning… Thank God, Strauss just left for a bunch of meetings in Washington and she won't be back until next Monday so we won't have her bugging us around here these days…" He said closing his briefcase. "And, I'm well aware that we'll have a lot of appointments ahead of us and I hope to with you in each one of them…" He finished walking towards her.

"Okay…" She just smiled and nodded at him while he opened the door for them and lead them to the elevators.

"Would you rather drive together or apart?" He asked pressing the parking lot's button.

"It would be more practical to drive together but then we would have to come back to pick my car later…" She said.

"… or I could just drive you home and then pick you up tomorrow morning before work. We don't live apart from each other…" He suggested as the doors opened.

"It wouldn't rise suspicious?" She asked quietly.

"Suspicious of what? Do you really think people would guess that we left early to go to your OBGYN for the first scan of our baby and then I took you home and had to pick you up in the morning?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess not…" She smirked at him.

"Co-workers get lifts with each other, Emily. You usually pick JJ on your way and sometimes even Reid. Rossi and I also drive together sometimes… it's no big deal…" He said with a smile opening the passenger door of his SUV for her.

She just smiled at him and waited for him to get into the driver's seat. They drove towards the clinic making small talk about their day and some of the consults they would probably have for the next couple of days. They got there just in time as Emily's name was being called by the nurse and they were quickly directed towards the doctor's office.

"Emily… is good to see you again… how are you?" Dr. Green said, standing up to greet them.

"I'm good, thank you…" Emily answered with a smile shaking the doctor's hand.

"I'm glad. And this is Mr. Hotchner, right?" She asked looking at Hotch who nodded at her with a slight smile.

"Please, just Aaron…" He said shaking her hand.

"Then it's just Carol… I tried with Emily already but she sticks with Dr. Green. Maybe now that we'll have more than a twice a year contact we'll change that…" She said with an amused smile and Emily chuckled nodding.

"Let's work on that…" Emily and Hotch sat at the visitors chairs while the doctor opened Emily's file.

"Okay… now let's see how baby Prentiss is doing…" Carol said with a smile but Emily quickly shook her head.

"Baby Hotchner." She said firmly and Hotch just looked at her with a smile, taking her hand with his and squeezing it.

Carol just smiled at her and nodded. "Baby Hotchner, then. Well, Emily, before we can go to the exam table, let's talk for a bit. How are you feeling these last few weeks? Any nausea or dizziness?" She asked.

"I started to feel a little nauseous this past week in the morning… but nothing too big, just a sick feeling in the stomach and I only threw up twice… it usually stops when I drink some tea and eat something…" She answered. She felt rather than saw Hotch's stare on her when she said that. The squeeze on her hand told her how unpleased he was at her for hiding this information from him and that they would talk about it later.

"That's absolutely normal… you're in the middle of your fifth week so you can expect to have this symptoms increasing in the next couple of weeks. I'll prescript you some vitamins and a few pills to help with the sickness if it's too much, okay?" She said and Emily nodded. "You'll also probably feel a little less willing to eat like you usually do, the food will appear less appealing to you… but you need to do an effort to eat at least every four hours, even if you're having sickness and throwing up. Actually, especially in this situations. You can opt for lighter food like fruit, some cereal and things like that. Breakfast is essential, especially in your line of work. I don't recommend bacon or sausage and these more caloric things. You can choose eggs and fruit pancakes and even French toast. Cereal with milk is good too." The doctor told her and she just nodded.

"Carol, correct me if I'm wrong but when my ex-wife was pregnant her doctor told her that she didn't need to cut the caffeine altogether. She said she could have a cup a day without harming the baby…" Hotch said and she nodded.

"That's correct. The abusive use of caffeine could be harmful to the baby but a cup a day wouldn't do any harm…"

"See… you can drink half cup in the morning and half cup in the afternoon… that way your body wouldn't feel the abstinence so bad…" He said looking at Emily. They had talked on their way there about Emily's lack of caffeine and how much trouble she had to adapt.

"Oh, thank God…" Emily sighed happily. "Are you sure it won't harm my baby?" She asked confirming.

"Absolutely. One cup a day won't do any harm…" Carol said smiling at the relieved look on her face. "Okay, I also want you to drink lots of fluid every day, Emily. Water, tea, juice, milk, which you prefer, but it's essential to drink a lot during the day. You'll have more trips to the bathroom but it'll guarantee that you keep your body hydrated and functioning perfectly, okay?"

"No problem…" Emily said nodding.

"You'll also feel a lot more tired and sleepy. That's completely normal because your body is adapting to its new condition and it'll take some time… don't force yourself. I know your job is demanding but if you feel tired, take a break. You don't even need to take a nap, just a break to lay down and rest your body for fifteen minutes. You'll need that more and more each day and if you ignore it you'll collapse from exhaustion… I'm pretty sure your boss will understand your need to rest sometimes…" She said with a smile and Emily chuckled when Hotch squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry, doctor… there's a couch in my office with Emily's name on it for any time she needs it…" Hotch said with a smile.

"That's perfect." Carol said. "Well, Emily, if you could go to the changing room and put the gown we can start to prepare you for the scan…" She said motioning to the door in the back of the office. Emily nodded and got up, going towards the room. She changed into the gown and walked back to the office, where the doctor was preparing the machine. "You can lay down on the table, Emily. Aaron, you can take a seat beside her…" She said pointing to the chair beside the examining table.

"You okay?" He asked Emily quietly while taking her hand with his and putting the other by her head, caressing her hair soothingly.

"Nervous…" She confessed and he squeezed her hand.

"It's normal… everything will be okay…" He said with a calming voice and she found herself nodding at him.

"Okay, mom, dad, let's take a look in this baby?" Carol asked positioning herself at the end of the table. "Since is too soon to do a scan by the abdomen, we'll do a intravaginal one, okay?" She asked and Emily nodded.

The doctor started the exam and Emily winced a little at the foreign feeling. Hotch kept running his fingers through her hair and brushing his thumb on her hand to let her know that she wasn't alone. After a few adjustments on the screen they could finally see the small blur.

"See this little white blur right here?" Carol asked. Emily just nodded, having lost her voice the moment she saw the screen. "Well, that's Baby Hotchner…" She said with a smile. "And this…" she said pressing a few buttons "is your baby's heartbeat…"

There was a small beeping sound filling the room and suddenly there wasn't enough air for Emily to breath. Her vision was completely blurred with tears and she felt like she was dreaming. There was really a small life growing inside of her and that was the most incredible feeling of the world.

She thought about her first experience and how she didn't even had the chance to hear that baby's heartbeat before the abortion because of her own cowardice. She still couldn't believe that she was given a second change and now, she would make sure that everything turned out alright and her baby would grow strong and healthy.

She felt a squeeze in her hand and looked up just to have the air stolen out of her lungs one more time at the sight of Hotch's tears. He looked at the screen as if he was looking the most important thing in the world and once more she didn't have words to describe what she was feeling.

He looked down at her and smiled a huge full-dimpled smile that sent tingles from head to toe in her body and then leaned down to press the sweetest of the kisses in her forehead, lingering for a few seconds. "Thank you…" He whispered at her and she didn't know if he was thanking her for keeping the pregnancy or for simply letting him be there but in that moment it didn't matter because the happiness she was feeling was just so overwhelming that she didn't want to think about anything else.

"I'm putting your due date for March 5th. Everything seems fine with the fetus and we'll be able to get a better look at it in the next scan… I want you to come back in three weeks, unless something happens… if you start bleeding or faint or anything, you can call me and we'll schedule an appointment…" Carol said. "I'll print two copies of the picture for you and then I just want to look at your BP and prescript you those pills and vitamins before you go, okay?" She asked and Emily nodded.

"March 5th…" Hotch repeated with a happy sigh.

"Our baby has a birthday…" Emily grinned at him and his cheeks were hurting already because he wasn't used to smile that much unless Jack was involved. The doctor looked at Emily's BP and then sent her to the change clothes again while she wrote her prescriptions. They left the office and went to the pharmacy to pick her meds before leaving the clinic.

"Are you too tired? Do you want to maybe grab some early dinner?" He asked looking at his watch and seeing that it was a little before six.

"Sure…" Emily nodded smiling. "What are you in the mood for?" She asked getting into his SUV when he opened the door for her.

He walked to the driver's seat and buckled himself before answering. "There's a new Deli a few blocks from my place… is that okay?" He asked and he quickly started driving when she nodded again.

\\*\\*\\*\

"So… care to tell me why didn't I know about that morning sickness?" Hotch asked as the waiter left with their orders. Emily looked down sheepishly for a second before answering.

"I just didn't want to worry you…" She said quietly.

"Emily, I'm not mad…" He assured her taking her hand. "It's your body and you don't have to report to me about anything you feel, but… I just want you to know that you're not alone… I know can't do much to help you when you feel sick but at least I'd like to know how you are feeling…" He told her and she nodded.

"I know and I'm sorry…" She said. "It's just… I'm not used with someone caring about me, Hotch… I'm basically alone ever since I remember and I got used with that… with my parents' divorce when I was five and mother's job I was basically raised by nannies and some of our housekeepers. And since we'd always move around the world I didn't even had friends… here, on the team, is the first time I have people who really care about me and it takes a while to adapt…" She explained.

Hotch smiled at her and nodded, brushing his thumb in her hand. "I understand that… and I'm sorry. But now you do have people who care and we, you and me, are a team right now. We're together in this…" He said.

"I know… and I'm really glad for that…" She smiled.

Just then their food arrived, interrupting them for a moment. The waiter served them and asked if they needed anything else before leaving. "If you don't mind me asking, what about your father, Emily?" Hotch asked when they started eating. "Do you have any contact with him?"

Emily shook her head negatively, taking a sip of her water before answering. "Not really. He couldn't keep up with mother's job and her so lovely personality so he left. I don't blame him. I have some good memories of him when I was little but after he left he didn't try to make contact with me or have a joined custody… he used to send me gifts in my birthday and Christmas but after I turned sixteen he stopped. I know that he still works for the CIA but other than that I haven't spoken with him in like, twenty years…"

"I'm sorry for that… I can't even imagine how you must have felt…" He said sadly. "That's my biggest fear, you know… that someday Jack resents me for not being near enough, for not seeing him too often…"

"That's not possible, Hotch, because we all can see how much you do your best to be with him as much as you can. Of course sometimes you can be out for weeks but we hear you speaking with him through the phone almost every night and that's what it matters… believe me, he yearns for these calls and when you get home to pick him it's the highlight of his day… you're a fantastic father, Hotch. Anyone who knows you can see that…"

Hotch looked at her for a few moments before managing to answer. "Thank you… you have no idea how much it means to hear that…" He said quietly. "I think that with Haley throwing in my face what a lousy husband and father I was added with not being able to see him as often I wanted got me a little insecure about it…" He confessed.

Emily hesitated for a second before answering. "Look, Hotch… I don't want to insult your ex-wife… I know she is the love of your life and the mother of your son, but honestly? Haley's stupid and more than a bit selfish in my opinion…"

To her surprise he chuckled at her. "You should talk with my mother sometimes…" He said shaking his head amusedly. "And I know that… it took some time to understand what had happened and to stop to blame myself for everything but I do see Haley's part in everything. Especially because her part is big…" He finished quietly and she raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I sense more history in that?"

"Because there is… but that's for another day…" He said and she nodded. "About the love of my life part, I'm not so sure of that anymore. She is the only woman I loved until now because I'm not a cheater and I would never even look at another woman while being with Haley. But after everything we lived, everything she did and still does when is concerned to my relationship with Jack… I don't know if she's really _the_ love of my life… at very least she's not the woman I thought she was… Anyway, I managed to understand that I wasn't entirely to blame of everything…"

"That's good." She nodded. "And, not that is any of my business but, when do you expect to tell her about this?" She asked gesturing between them.

"I have no idea…" He said with a wince. "But since I'm pretty sure it will be one hell of an argument I think I'm going to wait a couple of weeks, until Jack's birthday. I don't want to give her any excuses to try to keep me away from him…" He said and she nodded.

"Which version are you going to tell her?" She asked.

"Oh, now that's a good question… which option is worse? Give her another reason to say that my job is too dangerous or give her an excuse to accuse me of sleeping with my subordinates…" He said and she chuckled at him.

"In times like these I'm glad that I don't have anyone to worry about it…" She said raising her glass at him.

"Yeah? Aren't you going to tell the ambassador about her grandbaby?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I will. But I already know that she's not going to be pleased because a, I'm having a baby out of marriage, b, I'm having a baby with my boss, c, I'm not even in a relationship with him and d, I'm intending to keep working at the BAU even after the baby is born…" She listed and now it was his time to chuckle at her.

"Well, I'm sorry but I really don't want to be present in this conversation…"

"Oh, don't even try it. She'll want to speak with you…" She said pointing a finger at him and chuckling when he winced. "What about your mom? Are you going to tell her?"

"Definitely. If I hide this from her she'll kill me…" He said with a grimace and she smiled.

"Are you scared of your mom, Hotch?" She teased and chuckled when he nodded.

"Oh, I sure am. You don't know Anna Hotchner. If you think I'm hard-ass, she can be ten times worse when she wants…" He said.

"What do you think she'll think?" She asked a little hesitant.

"Well, I'm going to tell her the truth…" He said and she widened her eyes. "I can't lie to her, Em. My relationship with my mom is something… unique. We've been through a lot together and I just can't lie to her… I know she won't judge. I know she'll be by our side and she'll give all her support. And mostly I know she'll be thrilled about the baby…" He said. Emily eyed him warily, hesitating to ask him what she was wondering but his look told her to let it go. "Maybe someday I'll tell you about my childhood, Emily…" He said and she nodded at him.

"Well, it must to be good to know for sure that she'll support you…" She said and he nodded once.

"I want you to meet her…" He said bluntly and she coughed a little bit with her food before looking at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"I want you to meet my mom, Emily. And I know that she'll want to meet you too as soon as I tell her everything…" He said and she looked at him with frightened eyes.

"Do you think she'll like me?" She asked with a quiet voice. "I'm really different from Haley…" She commented and he actually gave her a good belly laugh at that.

"Well, considering that when I started dating Haley she told me she never expected me to date a _doll_ and when we started having problems in our marriage she started calling her _Tiffany_ , I'm pretty sure she will love you just because of that…" He said still chuckling and she gaped at him.

"She didn't!"

"Oh, she did." He said nodding. "Trust me, Em. I know my mom and she'll absolutely adore you…" He said confidently and she smiled.

"Okay…" She said with a little of hesitation. "Just set the date and place and I'm there…"

"I'll talk to her first and then I'll tell you…" He said and she nodded. Both of them continued the small talk during the rest of the meal and then he drove her home, promising to pick her up at seven-thirty in the next morning. While he drove back to his place he weighted his options about the talk he knew he would have to have with his ex-wife sooner or later. And the most he thought the better he knew… it wouldn't be a pleasant talk, at all.

 **A/N: If anyone lost the reference, the Tiffany mentioned is the Bride of Chuck, lol. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I wrote some really nice Haley's in TTCL and WHIA and I think it's time to change that. So, attention please, Haley will be a pain in the ass here. Sorry!**

 **And we have Anna back! I swear I tried but I couldn't keep her away... Sorry if you don't like her. (She's my creation of Hotch's mom, if you don't read Oblivion and WHIA yet).**

 **Well, in the next chapter we'll have Hotch's talk with Haley. How do you guys think it will be? *suspense music* It should be up until Friday... reviews are incredible appreciated, please, let me know what you think.**

 **For those who are waiting for Undercover Operation's sequel, good news. I'm finishing the first few chapters and it'll probably be up until the end of the week :)**


	9. My Safe Haven

**A/N: Hello everyone. I know it's been forever and I'm truly sorry for that. I've been through some bad days, family issues and illness, and I really wasn't in the mood to write. This chapter was pretty hard to write. It's more focused on Hotch and his relationship with Anna. I used this piece as some kind of catharsis to me... unfortunately I can relate with a lot of what I wrote as Hotch's story so it was pretty hard to me to put on words what people who go through this feel. I'm not entirely happy with the results but I hope you guys like it.**

 **As I said, I was in a mini hiatus phase so I'm still finishing the edition of UO's sequel. It'll be up in the next couple of days, though. I'm sorry again for the wait.**

 **I'd like to thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter and all the love you guys have sent to me. God bless you always.**

Chapter 9: My Safe Haven

Later that same week Hotch found himself ringing his mother's doorbell. He had called her earlier and asked if he could come over for dinner because he needed to talk to her about something. Of all the things he knew they would have to face and all the people he knew they would have to tell about Emily's pregnancy, his mother's reaction was the one he was less worried about it. Not because it didn't matter, because it was in fact the most important opinion for him. But because he already knew for sure that she would be by his side through everything and be his safe haven as always.

He wasn't kidding when he told Emily that his relationship with his mother was unique. They had gone through a lot together and even though he had resented her for a very long time while he was growing up, he understood with time her reasons and fears that lead her to do what she did. It was the summer of 1971 when it started. He was almost seven and his father started to get home late every other day, the smell of alcohol impregnated in his clothes, his eyes red and blurry and his walk trembling.

At first, he only pretended that he and his mother didn't exist and ignored them completely. But with time he started to get angry. Angry because Hotch's toys were on his way or because the dishes were still dirty on the sink or because the dinner wasn't what he wanted to eat. It started with words. He yelled at them and called bad names, cursing them, threatening them, but always with only words.

Hotch was playing with his favorite wood truck when he got the first blow. It came out of nowhere and Hotch could feel his ears ringing for hours after that. He remembered until this day the expression of shock and fear in his mother's face. She seemed frozen on spot and just watched her husband stumble upstairs, grumbling about the noises the little boy was doing with his toys.

After he was out of sight she rushed to her son's side and cried along with him, shushing him quietly into her lap. In the next morning, Hotch's face had a big purple bruise on the left side and his lip was a little swollen. Joseph Hotchner pretended that nothing had happened, eating his breakfast at the dining table with them and even ruffling the little boy's hair affectionately. When he got home that evening, sober for a change, he brought a new wood fire truck for him and even played with him for a while in the living room floor, making all the fun noises that he liked so much.

Three days later it happened again. This time it was a kick that threw the boy on the floor onto his back. Anna, once again just rushed to his side after her husband was out of sight and in the next day another wood truck was added to the boy's collection. The sixth time it happened Anna finally intervened. The bruises on her face and back took two weeks to heal.

After the first six months, Hotch learned something that no seven years old boy should know. He learned how to avoid the most sensitive places and how to smile when his body ached unbearably. He also learned how to stay out of the way to avoid giving a reason, not that it mattered. There weren't reasons. It just happened.

Anna continued to intervene, even if the consequences were painful bruises and cuts. With time they learned to alternate between them. Somedays it was Hotch who took the blow and somedays it was her. They learned to take care of each other's wounds and to comfort each other when needed.

Hotch remembered of begging to his mother to go away. He just wanted to get out of that house and leave him and the pain behind. As an eight year old boy he didn't understand how it was difficult to raise a child completely alone in the seventies'. He didn't understand how his mother was scared of leaving because she didn't have anyone to run to. Her parents were gone, she was an only child and the only friends she had were because of Joseph's connections and she knew they would never help her.

He resented her. He hated her each time his head pounded because of a punch. He hated her each time she covered her bruises with her expensive make up. He hated her each time she put that damn lotion on his back to help to heal the belt marks.

He was eleven when his mother found out about the pregnancy. It was nine months of hell. Joseph wasn't stupid enough to hit on a pregnant woman and Anna would never risk the life of her unborn child so Hotch pretty much became his personal punching bag during that time.

Sean came along and for a couple of months things really seemed to get better at the Hotchner's. There weren't punches or kicks, not even yells. Hotch really thought that it was over and he loved his little brother for that. His mother seemed healthier and the old marks started to fade in his body.

But then it all began again. If Sean cried, if Sean pooped, if Sean gurgled, it was all reason. Hotch and Anna started again their scheme to alternate between them, protecting the baby from him. Thankfully they managed to spare Sean of everything. The make-up and lotions came back with full force but at least the little and innocent baby was safe and sound.

It was a very cold evening when the knock on the door came. Hotch remembered of playing with a three years old Sean in the living room floor while Anna was cooking dinner. He had just turned fifteen and he could still hear, clearly, the voice of the officer notifying them of Joseph Hotchner's death in a car accident. He was driving drunk when he lost control of the vehicle and collided with another car.

The first thing on his mind was: it's over. It was finally over and they would never feel the weight of his hand or his belt again. When he hugged his mother and cried with her, tears that the officer certainly thought it was of sorrow, they both felt the same relieve in their hearts.

The funeral was simple and quick and two months later they had sold the house and bought another one, free of memories and full of new possibilities for them. Sean grew up with Hotch as a father figure and he was incredibly thankful for that. And when Haley announced her pregnancy to him the first thing on his mind was that he would never make his child feel the terror he felt every time he looked at his father.

The door opened and he was greeted by her warm and sweet smile, and the feeling of peace and lightness filled his chest. "My baby boy!" She exclaimed and quickly enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Hi, mom…" He sighed into her grey hair.

"Come in, come in… I just put the chicken out of the oven. I made that recipe of garlic bread that you love and your favorite for desert…" She said closing the door and leading them to the kitchen.

"Mmm, tiramisu…" He hummed happily at the smell of comfort and domesticity in the room. "You didn't have to do all of this, mom…"

"Of course I did. It's not every day that I have my baby with me…" She said with a wide smile. "Help me to settle the table, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am…" He nodded and quickly arranged the plates and silverware at the dining table.

"Beer or wine?" She asked from the kitchen while he put the chicken at the table.

"Beer is fine, mom…" He called back and she came with two Budweiser in hands. They sat and served themselves, starting to eat. "Jesus… I miss this food…" Hotch moaned as he took his first bite.

"Well, if you came over more often you wouldn't miss so much…" Anna told him with a raised eyebrow and he nodded sheepishly.

"I know, mom… I'm sorry… you know how work is crazy and…" He said with a sigh and she took his hand over the table.

"I understand, honey. I just miss you…" She said with a warm smile and he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it before letting it go. "Okay. Now, I know you're here for a reason, so… what happened? Did Tiffany do something again?" She asked and he chuckled.

"No mom… it has nothing to do with Haley…" He said. "It's about my job… partially."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked frowning.

Hotch took a deep breath before start talking. "A few weeks ago, we were working on a case in Nevada… Emily and I went to check a dumpsite…"

"Emily?" She interrupted.

"Agent Prentiss… I told you about her…"

"Oh, right. The ambassador's daughter…"

"Yeah, that's her…" He nodded. "Anyway, we were at this dumpsite and the unsub managed to knock us both out. He took us to the place he was holding his victims…"

"Oh my God, baby…" Anna gasped.

"When we woke up Emily was handcuffed on the floor but I was free. I tried to free her but the unsub said that if I tried to break the cuffs the trap attached to it would kill Emily. He gave us food and water and said he wanted to play…" Hotch said dropping his fork down and taking a deep breath. "He said I had three choices. I could have relations with Emily while he watched, he could knock me unconscious and do whatever he wanted with her or he would release the trap and kill her…" He said quietly looking at his plate.

"Jesus Christ…" Anna gasped again taking his hand with hers.

"I couldn't let him touch her, mom… I just couldn't…" Hotch shook his head. "She asked me to do it… she was so scared… I could feel her trembling under my hands and her eyes were so frightened… I will never forget the look on her face right before… she looked so small… defeated… it's something I never related to her… Emily is one of the strongest women I've ever met… she fights all the time… she's strong and tough and at that moment I felt like I was breaking her…" He said, only noticing the tears falling on his cheeks when Anna wiped it with her thumb.

"You did what you had to do, honey… you protected her from that monster… imagine what would have happened to her if you had refused…" She said and he shivered at the thought. "You can't blame yourself for that. You both were victims and you did what you had to do to survive, Aaron. To save both of you…"

"I just wish I could've done something to avoid violating her… I wish I could've fought against it… I wish I could've protected her better…" He said with a shaky breath.

"There's nothing you can do about what happened, Aaron… you need to accept what you had to do and move on…" She said squeezing his hand. "We both know how dangerous these what ifs can be and you can't keep focused on that…"

"I know…" He nodded at her. "I just feel so helpless… useless… the way I found to protect her was hurting her…" He said. It was so good to finally talk about what happened with someone with whom he was able to break down. He was always the one to hold everybody up. He was the support and counselor of everyone but he wasn't able to be weak in front of anyone. This woman was the only one who got to see this side of him, the side that felt and was scared like anyone else, the side that needed to be supported instead of supporting.

"Have you talked with Emily about this, baby?" Anna asked.

"Not exactly…" He said. "I don't want to remind her of what happened… I don't want to stress her about it… she can't stress about it right now…" He shook his head.

"I think you two need to sit and talk about what happened, sweetheart. You both suffered a trauma together and although I'm sure the Bureau made you to see some kind of therapist after that, you two need to talk to each other and understand how you're both feeling… neither of you can move on if you don't do this…" Anna said calmly. "Just think about it… you're beating yourself about this inwardly ever since you were rescued… what if something on those lines happen again? Would you be able to think straight? Would you be able to trust yourself with her safety, Aaron?" She asked and he just looked at his plate without answering.

"I don't think so…" He finally said after a few moments. "But that's not everything, mom… there's more…" He said with hesitation.

"What is it?"

"Emily's pregnant…" He whispered and there was a heavy silence in the room at his words.

"Oh my God…" Anna breathed heavily after a few minutes. "Are you sure?"

Hotch took his wallet from his pocket and opened it, revealing the small sonogram picture. "Pretty sure… we had the first appointment this week…"

"Dear God…" Anna whispered taking the picture from his hands and tracing it with her fingertips. "Another grandbaby? Am I going to have another grandbaby?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, mom… her due date is March 5th…" He said with a slight smile.

"March 5th… wow… I can't even believe it…" She breathed. "How are you feeling with all of this, honey?" She asked concerned.

"Terrified… excited… scared… happy… I don't know what to pick… I'm thrilled, of course… I'm going to be a father again and Emily's such a fantastic woman… I'm sure she'll be a terrific mother… but with the circumstances that everything happened it's impossible to not be a little hesitant… anxious…" He said truthfully.

"And what about Emily?"

"She's… I don't know, mom. She's happy… Emily always wanted to be a mom but she never had the chance… she's just thrilled with the idea of being a mom… I'm actually surprised… I expected a little more resistance from her… but she's just happy…"

"Do you think maybe she's just ignoring the elephant?"

"Emily's the queen of compartmentalization so, it's a possibility… I honestly don't know, mom… I just know that I'll be with her every step of the way…" He said.

"I stand with my opinion… you two need to talk about what happened. It'll always be a barrier between you two if you just ignore it. And with a child in the picture, baby… you guys really need to have everything clear…" She said and he nodded reluctantly.

"I guess you're right…" He said with a sigh. He knew she was right. They were only fooling themselves pretending that everything was solved with the three sessions with the Bureau therapist. There would be a time when they wouldn't be able to ignore it anymore and it could be a real mess and blow up into their faces. As much as they didn't want it, they needed to face it if they wanted to move on, especially because of their baby.

"I want to meet her…" Anna's voice brought him back from his thoughts and he chuckled.

"Yeah, I warned her that you would want to meet her as soon as I told you about it…"

"Good. Then set a date and bring her for dinner… I need to know my grandbaby's mother…" She said and he nodded chuckling. Something tell him that Emily and his mother would get along very well, maybe because they were very alike, strong, tough, educated but humble and simple. "What about Tiffany? When are you going to tell her?" She asked and chuckled when he winced.

"After Jack's birthday, in two weeks. Have no idea of what I'm going to say but she needs to know, unfortunately…"

"Well, good luck. You'll certainly need it…" She said raising her beer at him. He chuckled again and they both continued to eat, talking about anything and everything, Emily's baby, their plans and expectations and everything else. At the end of the night Hotch felt a peace that he hadn't felt in a very long time. A piece that he knew it was related to his mother. He thanked God for having her to help him through everything because he knew he would need it. Both him and Emily would need it.

 **A/N: It's done and Anna it's in. Next chapter will be based on Demonology and we'll have some serious heart to heart between our couple. Reviews motivate me, please, let me know what you thought of this, good or bad. Thank you all for the support. I'm sorry for any errors.**


	10. A Bless in Disguise

**A/N: Holy cow. I know it's been forever and I'm truly sorry. I got a call from my boss last week and I got three new classes at the college so my work doubled up and I've been so busy doing all my planning... I'm really sorry. I managed to organize my work and I'll probably get into a normal routine now, so the updates won't take so long. I'm finishing the new chapters of I Grow Fonder and Of Villains and Heroes and I should be posting it tomorrow.**

 **Here is the new one in this piece and it's based on Demonology. I truly hope you guys enjoy it. To answer some guest reviews, yes, I will write Hotch and Haley's conversation and will be up in the next chapters. Probably not the next one, but the other. I want to write Anna and Emily's introdution first. Anyway, sorry for any errors. It's almost one in the morning and I'm out of my head already.**

Chapter 10: A Bless in Disguise

Emily walked through the snow-white streets without really knowing where she was going. She couldn't believe in what had happened in the last couple of days, no matter how many times she tried to. It had been over twenty years since she had seen John and Mathew, ever since she moved out of Italy when her mother was reassigned. That was a moment of her life that Emily chose to block it, completely ignore it, like it had never existed.

Not because she was scared. Not because she was angry. Not even because she was ashamed, even though she did feel all of those things. It was because it hurt so much to think about what she had done that she simply chose to pretend it never happened, so the feeling wouldn't suffocate her.

But now everything was up to the surface again. All the feelings she so much denied it, all the pain she so much ignored it, all the shame she so much hid it, everything was boiling up under her skin and even though it was a few degrees below zero she felt like she was burning inside out.

The minute she got the call from John she felt all the memories coming back, all the suppressed guilt coming back to suffocate her. It was like she was that fifteen-years-old girl all over again, sitting in the toilet of her bathroom, looking at the two pink lines staring back at her. She could feel the fear, the despair, the sick and terrifying feeling of not knowing what to do. She could hear his voice saying that he didn't want anything to do with it and that she should take care of it the way she wanted but to not count on him.

She could perfectly feel the coldness of the metal table and the smell of disinfectant and blood while that poor excuse of doctor killed her innocent baby because she was too scared. She could feel the warmth of Mathew's hand, holding her tightly during all the time, making her believe that she could actually do it, she could actually get through this.

Everything she suppressed for so long was back and her throat felt constricted and her heart felt like and sledgehammer into her chest. She was scared again. She was terrified and ashamed of something that happened so many years ago but still was present in her life as if it was yesterday.

She thought it was rather ironic that this had happened exactly right now. Now that she had another life growing inside her, another life to which she had the power to terminate it or keep it alive. It wasn't the first time that the thought of this experience being a punishment for what she had done passed through her mind. The circumstances that everything happened made her feel like it was fate's way to get back to her for having killed an innocent child because she was a coward.

Maybe that was why she wasn't so terrified about having a baby fruit from an almost-abuse. Maybe it was because the thought of _not_ having that baby was ten times more terrified to her because she knew she couldn't do it a second time. She wouldn't survive the shame and disgust with herself. She wouldn't survive with the knowledge that she killed two lives because of her fears.

Who was she kidding? There wasn't a maybe in this. It was obvious that that was the reason behind her calm into such madness. She just couldn't think about not having this baby. This baby was her salvation. It was her second chance to redeem for what she had done and she couldn't fail, she couldn't let it pass. She needed this. She needed to have this baby and dedicate her life to it, cherishing it and taking care of it, the way she should've done with that first one.

The honk of a car startled her and she blinked at the sight of the stairways of the church in front of her. She stared the double doors at the top of the stairs and felt the tears pricking in her eyes as she remembered of her friend. She couldn't avoid the guilt that threatened to consume her at the thought of Mathew. She was the reason why he was at the morgue right now. She was the reason why his life turned upside down and he lost his way. She was the reason why he turned to drugs when nothing else made sense anymore.

He had helped her, being by her side all the time while she was scared and she had ran away in the first opportunity. She had left and he stood there, relieving her demons, questioning his believes because of her own sins and she would never forgive herself for that. The knowledge that his murderer was now behind bars was nothing compared to the weight of the guilt she felt because of his death.

 _He wasn't disturbed until he met you._

His mother's words echoed into her ears and she let out a sob. She took the folded picture from her coat's pocket and looked at the three young faces, smiling back at her. They were so free and young and innocent at that time, without worried, without demons, without shame. They were so young and one night, one stupid mistake she did, changed everything. Her mistakes changed the lives of those three young kids and nothing was ever the same after that.

Could she really blame John? If he had told her he would be by her side would she really have chosen different? She didn't think so. She didn't think that she would have the courage to face her mother, to face the shame of being pregnant at fifteen and embarrassing her mother's image to the world. She didn't think she would've been brave enough to fight for the life of that innocent child. She didn't think that.

A small red drop fell into the picture making her frown. She brought her hand to her nose and sighed at the sick feeling of her blood. How much time had passed ever since she started walking in the snow? She searched for her phone and sighed again when she didn't find it, remembering that she had left it in Rossi's SUV while they drove to Mathew's parents'.

She looked up at the sound of the church's bell and saw that it was ten already. Two hours then. It had been two hours since they left the crime scene and she refused Rossi's offer to drive her home. She tried to recognize her surroundings and noticed that she was only ten minutes away from her place, so she folded the picture and put it on her pocket again and started walking home, knowing very well that there may be dozens of messages at her answer machine already, probably from her teammates, especially Rossi.

He turned out to be her personal rock during all the case and she was incredible grateful for it. He had been the first person she had told about what happened in Rome and she was immensely relieved about his lack of judgment towards what she did, especially considering how Catholic he was. He had been her back up all the time, surprising her when she expected Morgan to be by her side as her partner.

She didn't let her mind wonder at Hotch's behavior during the case. She was grateful for his support at the beginning, accepting an almost inexistent case and putting the team and all the BAU resources in her hands to help her find who killed Mathew, but the turn of the events after Father Paul's arrest let her sick. The rational part of her didn't blame him. She knew politics, she knew how much the higher-ups were probably on his neck while she accused the Italian government of helping a murderer. She knew he had to put his foot down in her investigation before things blow up into their faces.

And even after that, the man had called the Vatican for her. _Damn_.

She knew that. Intellectually.

Emotionally she was a mess. She remembered his hard eyes looking at her and his hard words saying that he didn't want her into the office for the next few days and that hurt. That had physically hurt in so many ways that she felt her eyes watering again.

She knew she was being irrational and that he had been her back during the whole case too, taking the blow he certainly did from Strauss without letting anything slip to her, but even knowing that it hurt. It hurt that it had been Rossi who had heard her story, it had been Morgan who had helped her to save John. It hurt that it wasn't him who offered her a drive home and it wasn't him who gave her the moral support she needed earlier.

It hurt.

She saw her building approaching and walked the last few steps to her home, the cold almost unbearable at this point. She couldn't feel her fingers and her nose was icily frozen but that wasn't the reason she felt the air leaving her lungs. She could see the cold air leaving her nostrils and mouth when she breathed and her whole body shivered violently at the cold but that wasn't why she froze on spot in front of the building.

It was because of the sight of a familiar SUV parked across the street.

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch was freaking out. It took him forty minutes to get rid of Father Paul and send him back to Italy and he drove as a maniac towards Emily's place straight from the airport. He felt so guilt and bad because of his posture during this case and he needed to see her and say that he was sorry.

When she first got into his office, all wet and broken he felt the ground leaving his feet. She looked so small and so fragile and all he wanted was to gather her into his arms and hold her until she was okay again. So when she told him about her friend's death and asked for a leeway to investigate he didn't hesitate before saying yes, anything.

He hadn't prevented the way things would go.

Thirty-seven.

That was the number of times Strauss called him while they were working on the case.

God knew how she found out about it but the minute she did she called him, questioning his reasons to investigate a case without any motive, any invitation from the local PD and even real method or probable cause. He hated that she was right. Other than a few strange things and Emily's intuition they didn't have any reason to investigate the murders.

They weren't even considerate murders. One had died from a heart attack and the other from dehydration.

It was hard but it was the truth and she focused on that. But he ignored it. He could see how important this was to Emily and he couldn't let her down. He couldn't disappoint her like that.

Only when the director himself called him to question his unit's actions towards Father Paul's arrest he saw that he needed to put an end in it. When he said, rather subtly that if the Italian government took any legal measures against the Bureau because of that particular investigation, those ones involved directly into the arrest would be considerate responsible for it.

In other words, back off or Emily's career is in the line.

He backed off.

It was one of the hardest things he had to do as the Unit Chief, seeing the incredulous look on her face and the way her jaw set hard and her eyes darkened at his words. He knew right then that he had done what he was so afraid of. He had disappointed her.

When Dave got into his office later, telling him that they had disobeyed his orders he was so angry. Not at the action himself but because Dave had done what he should've done since the beginning, but couldn't because of damn politics.

He had stood by her.

That was the moment he said screw it.

He picked up the phone and called the Vatican, explaining the situation and asking for intervention, knowing very well how things would get ugly with his bosses after that particular action.

When the director called again and surprised him saying that he certainly had balls for doing what he did, he let out a relieved brain at the fact that things hadn't turned out badly and they wouldn't suffer any punishment because of that.

So now here he was, for over an hour sitting at her front door, worried sick about her, wondering where the hell she was in such cold night. He had knocked for almost fifteen minutes until her eight-something-years-old neighbor came to tell him that she hadn't returned home yet. He called her then, frowning when Dave answered saying that she had forgot her cellphone at his car.

He wanted to punch his friend when he told her he let her go out for a walk after they left the crime scene.

A walk? In this weather? Was she _freaking_ insane?

His head snapped up at the sound of footsteps approaching and he breathed relieved at the sight of her. Her hair was covered with snowflakes and her skin was even paler than the normal. Her nose was pink because of the cold and he could see that she had cried.

" _Christ_ , Emily! Where the hell were you? I was worried sick!" He gasped getting up from the floor and walking towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I was walking…" She whispered and he could feel her shivering under his hands.

"God, you're freezing…" He said running his hands down her arms repeatedly to warm her up. "Come on, where are your keys?" He asked putting his arms around her shoulders and directing her to her door.

She passed him the keys and he quickly opened the door, pushing them both inside and closing it, placing the deadbolt and locking it. He pulled out his coat and then helped her to take hers off, hanging them both by the closet beside the door before pulling her into his arms tightly.

He ran his hands down her arms and her back quickly and repeatedly until he could feel her shivers subsiding and her skin warming up a little bit. "What are you doing here?" He heard her asking quietly after a few minutes.

"I needed to see you. Talk to you. How long have you been walking on this cold, Em?" He asked just as quietly.

"Ever since we left John's…" Came the whispered reply and he squeezed her tightly.

"God, Em. You can't do this. You could've got hypothermia… you could get the cold from the weather… you can't get sick, Emily…" He whispered and even though his words were reprimanding, the tone he used was so sweet and worried that she just felt a whole new wave of tears gratefulness for his worry and care.

"I know…" She said against his neck. "I'm sorry…"

"Ssh… it's okay… it's okay…" He shushed her, running his fingers through her hair. "Are you feeling a little warmer?"

"Yeah…" She nodded.

"Good… why don't you go take a hot shower and change into some comfy clothes while I fix us some quick late dinner?" He suggested pulling back. At her frown he quickly added. "Nuh uh, I don't care if you're not hungry. You can't go to bed with an empty stomach. You need to eat something. I promise I'll do something light, just to provide you some nutrients…" He said and she nodded.

"Okay…"

"Then go ahead. Take your time and I'll be right here when you're ready…" He said and she nodded again, walking upstairs to her bedroom, leaving him in the living room. He sighed and went to the kitchen to see his options. He opened her fridge and found some eggs, orange juice, milk, oranges, bananas – bananas in the fridge? –, grapes, strawberries and a few vegetables. He pulled out some eggs, mushrooms, red onions, cherry tomatoes and spinach and set it at the counter.

He grabbed a knife and chopped the vegetables, setting them into a bowl. He then cracked three eggs and beat it in another bowl with salt and pepper until they were well blended, adding the vegetables and mixing everything again. He turned on the stove and poured the mix into a heated pan, waiting until it was cooked and crisped in the edges and then flipped it over.

He picked up a couple of plates from the cabinet and sliced the omelet in two portions, serving both plates and placing them on the counter. He opened the fridge again and grabbed the juice box just to find out it was expired. He spilled out in the sink and threw the box away before grabbing three oranges and squeezing them to make some fresh juice. He was just pouring it into two cups when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and then saw Emily coming into the kitchen, her hair held up into a messy bum and dressed into a light-green with white dots flannel pajamas and white socks.

"Hi…" She whispered at him and he motioned to the stool in the counter.

"Hey. I made some veggie omelet and orange juice…"

"It smells yummy…" She smiled. "The juice was expired…" She said looking at the cups.

"I know. I threw it away. I squeezed some oranges to make a fresh one…" He explained and she nodded, grabbing the knife and fork he passed to her.

They ate in silence the first few bites, saved from a few approving moans from her. "It's really good… I didn't know you cooked…" She said quietly.

"Well, I'm divorced with a son… I need to know how to do the basics or else I'll starve or die from excess of takeout. When I have Jack with me I like to cook homemade food for us… I'm pretty good with breakfast. Omelet, pancakes, French toast, waffles… my mom taught me ever since I was a teenager. I needed to help her raising Sean and taking care of the house after my father died… I learned stuff…" He finished with a shrug.

"How old were you when he died?" She asked curiously.

"Fifteen. Sean was just three…"

"It must have been hard…" She said he saw the way his brow furrowed and his shoulders stiffened.

"Yeah… kind of. It was a hard adjustment. We needed to take care of everything, finances, house problems, everything. Thankfully he left us with a good alimony so my mom didn't have to work, but we weren't rich. I studied my ass out to get a full scholarship because otherwise I would never be able to pay Harvard…"

"I stand by what I said while we were held captive…" Emily commented after a few minutes. At his confused frown she explained. "You're all serious and hold this hard façade because life was too harsh with you. I don't know all that happened but I know that there's more in your story with your family. And that was what made you who you are. Strong, hard, serious, focused. You had to be that way to survive…" He dropped his eyes to his food and she shifted in her seat. "We're very much alike in this point…"

He looked up at the tone of her voice and saw the way her eyes had darkened and her features hardened. "Mathew was a very important person, wasn't he?" He asked quietly. Emily dropped her fork after taking the last bite of her omelet and sighed. "You don't have to tell me…" He offered but she shook her head.

"I do…" She said taking a deep breath. "I was fourteen when my mom was reassigned from Greece to Italy. We had stayed in Athens for almost two years, one of the longest assignments she had, and I was so mad because we were moving again." She started. Hotch pulled his plate aside and turned his whole attention to her. "I met Mathew while I was walking through some streets one morning. He was walking on his bicycle and he lost control. He got some pretty nasty scratches in his knee and I hurt my ankle when I jumped out of his way. He asked me to eat something in a small Café on the next corner and by the end of our frittatas we were best friends." She said with a laugh.

"Something happened between you two?" Hotch guessed and she shook her head with a smile.

"No… Mathew was like a brother to me. We did everything together. We spent hours just talking and talking and talking… I had never met someone I had felt so easy with…" Emily sighed. "After a couple of months he introduced me to John. He was a friend who had come to States for a while and then went back to Italy. John was the opposite of Mathew… he was popular and self-centered… I had just turned fifteen and in my mind I needed to be close to him because he was one of the cool ones, you know?" She asked and he nodded. "When you're fifteen you do anything to fit in. And fifteen-years-old boys just want one thing…"

"You got pregnant." Hotch said and this time Emily nodded her head.

"John said it wasn't his problem. That I should take care of it the way I thought better. I was terrified. Mother would kill me for doing this to her image. Mathew took me to the local priest, to ask for advice. He told us that if I got an abortion I wouldn't be welcomed in his church anymore. Mathew found a doctor… he held my hand the whole time… I was so scared… I can still remember how cold the room was and the dark eyes of the doctor when he looked at me and asked if I was sure…" She said and the first tear fell down her cheek.

Hotch grabbed her hand with his and squeezed it. "Emily, you were just a kid."

She snorted. "I wasn't a kid to have sex." He sighed along with her and squeezed her hand again. "That was when he started to question everything. He said, how am I supposed to believe in a God who leaves a fifteen-years-old girl alone and scared? After that he went downhill, getting away from the church, from his family, from everything. He started to shooting up and I left. When I most needed him he was there, by my side. But when he was the one who needed me I ran away. I came back to States with mom and left him alone in that place, questioning everything." She said with a quiet sob. "He was the only one who never let me down, never turned his back to me, and now he's death because of me…"

"No. No, Emily. It's not your fault." Hotch said firmly.

"It was. If it wasn't for my mistakes he wouldn't have turned like that. He would still be the loving boy I met. That one who had faith and love in his heart…" She said and there was so much pain in her eyes that he felt his heart aching.

"You don't know that. You can't know that. He could have turned to drugs for tons of reasons, Emily. You are the one who went through all of that and look at you… you're a strong, intelligent, caring, selfless and beautiful woman and you didn't look for other ways to get through your pain. You fought and you got over it because you wanted it, you chose it. He could've made the same choice but he didn't, and that was his decision. You can't blame yourself for that." He said looking straight into her watery eyes.

"Sometimes I think this is way this is happening…" She said quietly after a few minutes of silence. He frowned confused so she continued. "I'm almost thirty-eight and the only long-last relationship I had was a two year thing with a Ukrainian Ambassador's son, which I only saw every three months. I could have been married by now, with at least two kids, but no. Nothing ever worked. I always got this need inside me to be a mom but nothing ever happened. And when I finally got it, it's in these circumstances… maybe it's a punishment. A way of fate getting back at me for what I did… giving me a child out of a relationship, conceived out of love and…" She said with a shrug and Hotch felt his whole body go still.

He got up from his stool and stood right in front of her, cupping her cheeks with his hands and looking straight to her eyes. "Our child isn't a punishment, Emily. I don't ever want to hear you saying that. Out child is a bless, in the middle of such a horrific situation. It may not have been conceived out of love, but Emily, this baby" he said putting his hand in her belly "this little baby is so loved. _So loved,_ Emily. By you, by me, by all our friends. Even my mother already loves it." He said and her eyes widened. "We may not be in a relationship but we _are_ together and we both love this baby with everything that's in us. I know that. And you know that too. Don't say that fate is getting back to you with this baby because that's not true. Fate is giving you a second chance. A second chance to that fifteen-years-old girl, who didn't have any condition to raise a child. You're being given a second chance to be the fantastic mom I know you'll be. And it doesn't matter the circumstances this baby was made. Not for this. The only thing that matters is that this baby will be truly and wholly loved and he's a bless in both our lives…" He said firmly and by this point the tears were running free down her cheeks. He pulled her into a tight embrace and rocked her sobbing body until she calmed down. "I'm sorry I wasn't with you during this case. I'm sorry for saying what I said…" He whispered into her hair.

"I understand…" She whispered back. And she did. She truly did. "And you're here now." That was what really mattered.

 **A/N: There it is. This was a hard chapter to write. Too emotional. But I think it turned out okay. I hope you guys agree. Please, reviews are fantastic and I'd really like to know what you think of this chapter. Next one will be up until Thursday.**


	11. Affirming my priorities

**A/N: Hello everyone. I'm sorry for taking so long. I explained last chapter that work is crazy at the college and now things are pretty busy at my bakery too, so my time is very limited. But I'm trying and I don't intent to give up. I just need a little patience. Anyway, here is next chapter and it will show the morning after and Jack's birthday, along with a talk between Haley and Hotch. Finally! Lol.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy it.**

Chapter 11: Affirming my priorities.

Hotch woke up a little over five-thirty, as usual. He had a morning routine ever since the divorce and, aside from the mornings he had Jack or was out on a case, he was strict to it. He'd always wake up at five-thirty, go out to run for at least forty minutes in the park and then come back home to take a shower, get into his Hotch-suit and grab some quick breakfast before leaving to work.

This morning, though, he knew something was different from the minute he regain consciousness. The sheets felt different, smoother, and the smell was different too, more flower-ish. He opened his eyes slowly and frowned for a handful seconds before remembering the night before and recognizing his surroundings.

After their late dinner Emily suggested a movie with ice-cream as desert and Hotch couldn't find strength to refuse so they just curled up on her couch with a bowl of chocolate mint ice-cream between them, watching It's a Wonderful Life. Halfway through the movie Hotch noticed Emily's eyes closing and nudged her feet, suggesting her to go to bed. When he made motion to grab his coat she offered him her guest room, since it was already over one in the morning.

He sat up on the bed with a sigh and stretched his arms and back before getting up. He had just taken off his shoes, pants and dress shirt, choosing to sleep on his undershirt and boxers, so he proceeded to dress himself again to go grab his go-bag from his car. Emily had suggested that he'd take a shower and get ready there if he had his go bag, so he wouldn't have to go home just to get changed.

Twenty minutes later he was getting out of the shower in the guest-bathroom and walking back to the bedroom to get ready. He noticed the state of his bag and crossed his fingers so they wouldn't catch a case because he only had a couple of clean outfits left. He dressed in a dark-grey suit with a white dress-shirt and a red tie, without putting his suit jacket yet.

He was just getting out of the bedroom when he heard a noise coming from the master bedroom. He approached the door at the end of the hall and frowned at the groan sounds coming from inside. He heard it for a few moments before knocking slightly at the door. "Emily? Are you okay?"

Another painful groan was heard and then the flush of the toilette. "I'm dying…" He heard her moaning from inside and winced.

"I'm coming in, okay?" He announced before opening the door. He could see her knelt in front of the toilette from the bathroom's open door. He walked towards her and knelt beside her, running his hand down her back. "Morning sickness?" He asked, wincing inwardly at the sick look on her face. Her hair was stick with sweat and her cheeks were flushed.

"Your baby is killing me inside…" She groaned as another wave of sickness made her jump into the toilette again just in time. She moaned at the dry waves, since she didn't have anything left in her stomach to throw up, hurting her throat and her stomach. Hotch held her hair back and caressed her back until she stopped and then he helped her to get up and walk to the sink to wash her mouth.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after she brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth.

"Like crap." She muttered and he chuckled humorlessly. "This really sucks, Hotch…" She complained, leaning her body into his.

"I know it does. But it will go away. You're just getting into your eighth week. Your first semester will end soon and this phase is going to pass…" He said soothingly, his hand still caressing her back.

She nodded and looked at him properly, frowning at his attire. "What time is it?"

"Six-fifteen, I think…" He said, checking at his watch.

"And you're ready already? What time do you get up? Four?" She asked frowning and he chuckled at her.

"Nope. I get up usually at five-thirty to my morning run. My body is used to it…" He said with a shrug. "And I'm a man. I don't have as much as steps as you women while getting ready. It's just showering, drying, dressing, done."

"Oh, so that's what you do… I've always wondered how the hell you keep yourself fit with the hours you do at the office…" She said looking at him.

"Well, with the cases and the meetings I really don't have time to go to the gym often. I try to go every other week but usually I just stick with my running to keep my stamina… I'm no Morgan, but I can hold myself…" He shrugged.

"Morgan is all for show. He doesn't have to look like that to work on the field. He does one thousand sit-ups every day to get a body ready to take brainless women home to have meaningless sex. Real, confident, independent women don't get impressed with a six pack. It's good? Of course it is, I'm not hypocritical. But it's not everything…" She said walking back to her bedroom, Hotch following her. "You're no Morgan, of course, but you can take him on hand combat any time and you know that. And don't forget I saw you shirtless. You do have a six pack. You just don't display them out there to everyone who wants to see it…" She said looking back to him. "And trust me, this gets things way more exciting…" She finished with a grin.

"Well, good to know that." He said with a chuckle. "Now how about you go take your shower and get ready while I cook as some breakfast?" He asked.

"And he cooks!" She beamed with sparkling eyes. "Rocking body and kitchen skills, the whole package…" She added with a grin at his blush.

"Right, smartass." He muttered. "Banana pancakes okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine by me…" She nodded. "Please, no coffee. I don't want to risk it…" She pleaded and he nodded.

"Of course. I'll just squeeze a few oranges and make us some juice. I think I saw some milk at the fridge yesterday too…" He said.

"Yeah… I need to get some grocery done. I'm almost out of milk and don't have any yogurt or juice…" She said walking into the closet.

"Okay. I'll wait for you downstairs then…" He said walking out of the bedroom. He winced again at the image of her throwing her limbs out in the toilette and hoped that this phase ended soon enough.

He still remembered Haley's pregnancy and how miserable she was for the first thirteen weeks. There were days when she wouldn't even be able to get out of the bed. For some reason he couldn't picture Emily like that, though. Her stubbornness would never allow her to stay in bed because of some nausea. He groaned at the sudden thought of having to take her out of the field at some point of her pregnancy. It would definitely be an interesting argument, he thought.

He was just finishing the pancakes when she walked down the stairs dressed in black slacks and a green blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the color brought up her skin amazingly. Her dark hair was curled in natural waves and her bangs framed her face, making her look younger and beautiful. As usual, her make-up was almost non-existent, just a bit of mascara and a light-pink lip-gloss. He knew he was staring but he just couldn't help himself. She was glowing.

"What?" She asked with a confused frown and he blinked before looking down.

"Nothing, it's just… I looked at you and the term 'pregnancy-glow' came in my mind instantly. You look beautiful…" He found himself being honest and restrained his hand from slapping over his mouth.

Emily's fair skin gained a light shade of pink at his words and she chuckled embarrassedly. "Well, considering that I said you have a rocking body not even half hour ago, let's say we're even…"

"Agreed." He said with a chuckle. "The pancakes are ready. I made some juice. Do you want it or would you rather have some milk?" He asked putting the plate of pancakes at the counter.

"The juice, please…" She said and he nodded, pouring them both a glass of orange juice. "You're going to get me spoiled, you know… I usually just eat some cereal with milk and maybe a fruit… and that's when I'm good enough to eat something… when the nausea is too much I just skip…"

"Well, you shouldn't. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, my mom always says. You need to eat well, especially since our job is so unpredicted." He said.

"I'm not really good in the kitchen, Hotch. I know how to make some incredible lasagna and my chicken parmesan with veg salad is amazing too but that's it…" Emily said with a shrug, taking a bite of the pancakes and moaning at the taste of it. "Seriously, this is divine… how do you that?" She asked before taking another bite.

"It's very simple, my mom taught me that recipe. It's just flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Then you mix eggs, milk, vegetable oil and bananas in another bowl before mixing everything together. Then you just have to put in on the heated pan and watch until it's crispy on both sides, not too much, though. Jack loves it… it's his favorite…" He said with a smile.

"It's becoming my favorite too…" She said with a hum and he chuckled.

"So, do you get nauseous every morning?" He asked now with a concerned look.

"Not every morning…" She shook her head. "More like every other day… it's not usually that bad… after I throw up the first time it usually gets better… today was rough, though…" She said with a wince.

"I'm sorry for that… do the pills help?" He asked.

"They do, yeah… but I choose to take them just when it gets too bad, like today…" She said and he nodded. She ate the last bite of her pancake and finished her juice with an appreciative hum. "Seriously, though, these pancakes are amazing. And the omelet last night was too. Thank you…"

"You're welcome…" He said getting up and taking their plates to the sink. "How about if I come over every other week to make you breakfast and in return you invite me over for dinner and cook this incredible lasagna and this amazing chicken parmesan with veg salad?" He suggested with a smile and Emily grinned at him.

"Deal, buddy!" She said extending her hand for him to shake.

"All right. _But_ , you need to promise me to do an effort to eat breakfast every day. And when you're not feeling good to cook, call me so I can come over or take you to eat something before work…" He said looking into her eyes and squeezing her hand.

"Promised." She nodded.

"Good. Now let's head to work, Agent Prentiss…" He said and she nodded, going upstairs to grab her things.

\\*\\*\\*\

On Saturday, Hotch found himself grinning at his son's wide smile while they sang happy birthday to him. He could barely believe that his little boy was now three years old. His toothless grin warmed his heart in a way he couldn't even explain and he was so happy that he had made it today.

The team had caught a case right after Emily and Hotch got into the office on Thursday and when Friday evening came and they had no real leads to the unsub, he was devastated for missing his son's birthday party on the next day. After a rather nasty phone call with Haley, he got into his hotel room and sighed disappointed for once more failing with his boy.

Thankfully, half hour later he got a call announcing another murder and this time it was someone directly related with the killer. The overkill was evident and due to his rage he wasn't as careful as he was in the last murders, leaving a few fingerprints at the scene. Within a couple of hours they had him in custody with a full confession and the locations of another three bodies still not connected with him. It was three in the morning and usually they would wait for the morning to wheels up but everyone knew how sad he was for missing Jack's birthday, so they decided to take off immediately.

So, after getting home, Hotch managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep and at eleven he was ringing the bell of his old house, grinning inwardly at the look of surprise on Haley's face. Jack was thrilled with the surprise and jumped into his arms as soon as he saw him.

"Make a wish and blow the candles, buddy!" Hotch told him and grinned at the look of concentration in the young boy's face as he closed his eyes to make his wish. Jack blew the three little candies and everyone clapped excitedly with him.

"Pwesents now, daddy?" The boy asked excited and Hotch chuckled nodding his head.

"Sure thing, buddy, you can open your presents now…" He said and laughed when the boy cheered and ran towards the living room with his aunt. Haley started cutting the cake and Hotch walked into the kitchen, smiling when he saw his mother looking at Jack from the doorframe. "It's so good to see him old enough to enjoy opening the presents…" He said and she nodded.

"It sure is… he's so big…" Anna said with awe and Hotch smiled putting his arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer.

"Yeah… big enough to enjoy that red bicycle over there…" He said pointing to the small red bicycle already out of all the paper. "I wonder who gave it to him…" He said with an amused voice and Anna chuckled.

"Oh, shush it. He's my only grandbaby, it's my right to spoil him…" She said smacking his chest. "Well, only grandbaby for now…" She said looking at him with a smile. "How's Emily?"

"She's fine… morning sickness is awful but she's okay…" He said with a smile.

"I'm glad…" She said looking at Jack again. "He's so happy that you made it… I'm sure it was his favorite gift…" She said with a smile.

"I still can't believe I actually made it… we caught him over three in the morning… I got home at almost eight… just slept for a couple of hours before coming here… the look on his face when he saw me… I don't think I'll ever forget…" Hotch said, his voice thick with emotion.

"You are a good father, Aaron. Don't ever let what Tiffany says to you get into your head… you know how a bad father is and you're not one. You love that little boy more than anything and you'd do anything for him… your job is inconvenient, yes, but that doesn't make you a bad father…" Anna said looking at him with sweet eyes.

"Thank you, mom…"

"I'm just telling the truth, honey…" Anna said patting his cheek. Neither of them heard the back door opening and Haley coming in. "You should come over for lunch tomorrow…" Anna suggested. "I really want to meet Emily…"

Hotch smiled at her. "I'll ask her later… she's nervous about meeting you but I told her you'll love her…" He said and Anna chuckled.

"I promise I'll be nice with her… I really want to meet her…" She said and Hotch nodded.

"Who's Emily?" Haley asked with a tight voice and Hotch closed his eyes with a silent groan while Anna winced.

"I'm sorry, baby…" She whispered at him and he nodded at her, motioning for her to go to the living room. Once she left he turned around to face Haley and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the look on her face.

"Who's Emily, Aaron?" She repeated the question.

"We need to talk about something, but I don't think now is the right time to do this. Let's wait until the party is over and Jack's in bed, okay?" He suggested and she nodded stiffly before walking to the cabinets to grab a few plates.

"Help me to serve the cake, will you?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course." He knew he would have to tell her about Emily's pregnancy soon, he just didn't expect to be so soon. But now he really didn't have a choice.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Okay, now can you tell me who Emily is? I didn't know you were already seeing anyone…" Haley said with a tight voice.

"I am not." Hotch said seriously. "I want to talk to you about something because it will influence Jack's life directly, and it has to do with Emily…" He started.

"First of all, who is Emily?" Haley asked again and Hotch sighed.

"You know her already. It's Agent Prentiss…" He said and saw her eyes go wide.

"Are you sleeping with your subordinate?" She asked incredulously.

"I already told you that I'm not involved with Emily." Hotch repeated exasperatedly. "Yes, we did sleep together once, but it was a one-time thing…" He said. He had already decided to tell her the Bureau version to avoid her of complaining about how dangerous his job was, since he was kidnaped.

"How honorable of you, having one night stands with your employees…" Haley said with venom and Hotch's eyes narrowed.

"Emily and I were both consenting adults and what we did together and how many times we did it doesn't concerns to you. We are divorced and I have the right of going out with whomever I want, just like you are allowed to start dating and sleeping with whomever you want." He said firmly. "Of course you know that since you started doing it even before our divorce papers were signed. Hell, even before you left…" He finished and saw her face flushing red with anger and shame.

"This isn't about me, Aaron. It's about you and your agent…" She deflected.

"No, this is about Jack. He's the only string we have and the only thing that matters." He corrected.

"Fine." She spat. "How will your one-night stand impact my son?"

"It will impact _our_ son because it has results…" He said and saw her jaw dropping in understanding.

"You mean…"

"Emily is eight weeks pregnant with my baby…" He said with a nod.

Haley was silent for a few moments, absorbing the information. "What are you going to do about it?" She asked tightly after a while.

"I'll be there for Emily through everything and we're going to have a baby…" He said with an obvious voice.

"Aaron, are you insane? Are you seriously considering having a baby with your subordinate?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm not considering, Haley. I am going to have a baby with Emily." He said.

"I'm sure the FBI will be thrilled with that…" She said with a sarcastic voice.

"I won't be pretty, especially with Strauss, but I'll pass Emily's evaluations to Dave and, according with the rules, we won't have to leave the team because of that. Fraternization rules and just to avoid sexual harassments suits." He said with a shrug.

"So you are really doing this?" She asked again, her hands on her hips.

"Haley, I'm not here to ask your permission to anything. It's a fact, Emily's pregnant and we're going to have a baby together… we are not together romantically but honestly? I can't say that it'll never happen. Who knows? Maybe in a few months or years, I don't know, maybe we'll decide to try something…" He said. "I am here telling you that I'm going to have another child and that he or she will be Jack's half-brother or half-sister and I want them to have a good relationship…" He explained. "In a few weeks, after she ends her first semester, I want to talk to Jack to explain to him everything and I'd also like to introduce him to Emily…"

"I don't see why my son needs to have any contact with this woman…" Haley said angrily.

"You mean aside from that fact that she's my baby's mother?" Hotch asked sarcastically. "I want them to know each other because, especially right after the baby's born, I want Jack to meet him or she and I'll have to take him there… I want them to know each other and to be comfortable with each other…" He said seriously.

"I can't believe you're doing this, Aaron…" Haley said shaking her head. "Good luck explaining to our three years old son how you're going to have a baby with another woman and you're not even in a relationship with her…"

"That's my problem. I will think of something to tell him. I'm just telling you so you can be prepared for when he come home talking about his new baby brother or sister…" Hotch said dismissively.

Haley stayed in silence for a few seconds before shaking her head again. "I really didn't think you'd be capable of doing something like this…"

"Well, I also didn't think you'd be able to cheat on me or pack your things and leave without any explanation, taking my son with you, but hey, we all get disappointed with people…" Hotch remarked and Haley dropped her head.

Before either of them could say anything more Hotch's phone rang. He saw Emily's name on the screen and frowned. "I have to take this." He told Haley before pressing the in-call button. "Hello."

 _"_ _Hotch?"_ Emily's frightened voice send shivers through his spine, not the good ones.

"Emily? What happened? Are you okay?" He asked urgently.

 _"_ _I don't know…"_ She said between sniffs and he gripped the phone tightly.

"I need you to be more specific, Em. What happened?"

 _"_ _There's blood…"_ Emily said and he felt his face paling. _"I went to the bathroom and there's blood in my pee…"_

"It's only in your pee or there's blood in your panties too?" He asked already getting up.

 _"_ _No, it's only when I pee…"_ Emily answered.

"Okay, I need you to call Dr. Green and see if she can see us now. If not, we're going to the hospital, okay? I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Emily, I need you to stay calm until then… can you do that?" He asked putting his jacket while Haley watched him.

 _"_ _Okay…"_ Emily answered with a small voice.

"Good. I'm coming, okay. Stay calm and I'll be there soon…" He said before hanging up. "I need to go…" He said looking at Haley and opening the front door.

"I just hope you don't neglect Jack because of this baby. I mean, it's not like you have time for him now… I can't imagine how it will be when this other baby is born…" Haley said and Hotch looked back at her with narrowed eyes.

"I won't be difficult because Emily won't stay between me and my child. She'll let me see him or her any time I want. And I would never put anything or anyone above Jack. He is my son and having another child won't change that. I came today and dedicated myself entirely to him. Now he's sleeping and I don't having anything else to do here and Emily needs me… I know very well my priorities, thank you very much…" He said before walking away and closing the door behind him, leaving a stunning and fuming Haley behind. He had more important things to worry right now.

 **A/N: There you go. Like I said before, Haley's a bitch here. Please, tell me what you think of this piece. Reviews are so incredible and I love the interaction with you guys. Next update will be probably only next week, unless I can find a free time between my working schedules. I'm sorry for any errors.**


	12. Coming Closer

**A/N: So, it's been forever but I finally did it. I'm sorry for the delay and thank you for all your support and reviews. They really kept me going... This chapter starts right after the end of the previous one, with their trip to the hospital. They'll start to get closer in this piece, but really not quite there yet. I hope you guys like it and I'm sorry for any errors.**

Chapter 12: Coming closer.

Hotch raced the stairs towards Emily's condo, two steps at time, exactly twelve minutes after her phone call. He may have broken some speed limits and crossed a couple of red lines but the only thing in his mind was to get to Emily as quickly as possible. The fear on her voice during the forty-three seconds phone call was enough to get him in near panic and he knew that he wouldn't get better until they knew for sure that nothing was wrong with the baby.

He barely knocked twice on the door before it was swung open and he was greeted by a crying Emily. "Hotch!" She flung herself into his arms and buried her face into his neck. He could feel the wetness of her tears and felt his heart breaking at the shakiness of her body against his.

"Did you call the doctor?" He asked pulling back and looking at her.

"Yeah… she said she'll meet us there…" She said with a sniff and then her face contorted in despair. "Hotch… what if I lose our baby?" She whispered painfully and he physically shuddered at the thought.

"You won't!" He said fiercely. When she opened her mouth to argue he cupped her face and looked straight to her eyes. "Emily, listen to me. I need you to take a deep breath and calm down… being all worked up won't help the situation… you know the stress isn't good for the baby. You need to keep your cool and focus. We're going to the hospital and Carol will figure what is wrong and then we're going to fix it. Our baby will be fine, you have to believe in that!" He said and saw her struggling to do what he said. "Grab your coat and let's go now…" He urged her and she nodded wordlessly, allowing him to lead her downstairs to his car.

It was a fifteen-minute drive to the hospital but it seemed to take way much longer for both agents. Only when they were halfway there Emily spoke again, voice shaking. "I can't lose my baby… I can't… I can't lose my baby…" She whispered to herself and Hotch grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"You won't, Em. You won't. Everything will be okay… you need to stay calm, sweetheart…" He said softly, trying to comfort the brunette.

"I can't be calm, Hotch! I'm pregnant and I'm bleeding! Of course I'm not okay… I can't stay calm, I'm not you… I can't play robot…" She said tightly and he forced himself to not let her words affect him, knowing it was just the hormones and the fear talking.

They spent the rest of the drive silently and soon enough Hotch was parking and opening the door, going to help Emily to get out of the car. They met Dr. Green right after they got in and she immediately directed them towards an examination room. "Okay, Emily, I need you to give me a urine sample and go change into this gown and sit on the table, please…" She said giving Emily a hospital gown and motioning to the changing room.

Less than three minutes later Emily was laying on an examination table and a nurse was taking a blood sample to run some tests. Hotch was sitting beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Are you feeling any cramps? It burns when you urinate?" The doctor asked and Emily shook her head quickly.

"No, it doesn't. I just notice the blood when I was cleaning myself…" Emily said.

"Okay. That's good news because it means you don't have a urinary tract infection, which could be way more dangerous because it could evolve to a kidney infection. What concerns me is that you were able to notice the blood at naked eye. Generally, hematuria, aka blood in urine, is only diagnosed when you give a urine sample to be analyzed with the help of a microscope." She explained. "But that doesn't mean is actually bad news. It could be a simple bladder infection and we can treat it with just a few antibiotics… We'll know more when the results are here but for now, let's start with a scan to check the baby and see if there's any rupture in the placenta or anything abnormal." She said while preparing the machine. "Dad, we need to keep mommy calm right now. Can you help me with that?" She asked Hotch, who was silent during the whole time.

"Of course…" He nodded and scooted his chair closer to the table, taking one of Emily's hands with his and placing the other beside her head, leaning his own down to speak in her ear. "Hey… everything will be okay now. You heard her… we just need to wait for the tests and then she's going to give you the meds and everything will be fine…" He whispered and she hummed at him, squeezing his hand. "I spoke to mom today… she invited us for lunch tomorrow… I don't know if you'll be up to it, but we could change it for dinner, to give you the day to have some rest… what do you think?" He asked lowly against her ear.

"She really wants to meet me, uh?" She whispered back, her voice still shaken but a bit more distracted from the tests.

"She does, very much. You're carrying her grandbaby. Prepare yourself to be spoiled in a whole new level…" He said with a chuckle. "She'll probably cook us a banquet…"

"Okay, I guess… you can tell her we'll meet her for dinner…" She said after a beat.

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

"Really, really…" She nodded and he grinned at her.

"Okay…" He said and leaned to press a kiss on her hair. "I'll text her later. She'll be thrilled…"

"Okay, Emily, Aaron… ready to check your baby?" Carol asked and they both nodded quickly. "Right… let's see if everything looks good… this will be cold…" She warned before applying the gel on her belly. Emily winced a bit and Hotch squeezed her hand supportively. The doctor started the exam and in a handful seconds they were able to see the baby on the monitor and the sound of its heartbeat filled the room. "Oh, look! There it is, baby Hotchner, strong and healthy…" She said with a smile.

"Oh my God..." Emily whispered relieved at the sound. She felt Hotch dropping his head on her shoulder and squeezed his hand. "Everything is okay..." She voiced out loud and he just nodded against her shoulder without lifting his head.

"I don't see any rupture or anything to get worried about. Baby is perfectly developed, the heartbeat is strong and steady and the size is good and according to the expected... I'll need the results from the tests but I'm pretty sure we're dealing with a bladder infection and you should be all good with a few medications..." The doctor confirmed and just then Hotch lifted his head. Emily winced inwardly at the sight of his watered eyes and remembered her words on the way to the hospital, fighting the urge to slap herself because of it.

"What could have caused that?" He asked, clearing his throat to clear the huskiness in his voice.

"Bladder infections are pretty common within woman because our organisms and anatomy are more predisposed to that. Sometimes we skip our trips to the bathroom and that could cause a few problems… And during pregnancy, these trips increase and sometimes that helps with this kind of things... It's nothing to be too worried about, especially because you came as soon as you noticed and we'll be treating it properly..." Carol answered looking at Emily with a smile. Just then the nurse came back with the results. "Uh, let's take a look at this and... yeah, like I said, you're with a bladder infection and that caused the blood in your urine... I'm going to prescript you some antibiotics and you should be all good in a couple of days. You'll probably still see some blood in your urine in the next twelve to twenty hours, but it should be almost imperceptible. If you still see it in the next twenty four hours call me and we'll do some other tests and maybe give you a stronger medication..."

She cleaned the gel in Emily's belly and finished the exam, then started to write the prescriptions. "There's something she can do to avoid this from happening again?" Hotch asked and Emily could notice how his voice was steadier than a few moments ago.

"If she feels like going to the bathroom, go, no postponing. I can see from her blood test that she's having a good diet and doesn't present any anemia or anything like that... just, I advise you to drink a lot of fluids to help to clean your organism, especially because of the meds..." She said and they both nodded. "Here's the prescriptions. If anything unusual happens or if you start feeling other symptoms, cramps or anything, please don't hesitate to call..." She said handing the prescriptions to Hotch.

"Thank you so much for coming, Carol... especially on a Saturday..." Hotch said and Emily nodded.

"Yeah, thank you very much..." She said and the doctor just nodded.

"It's no problem... it comes with the job..." She said with a smile before saying goodbye and leaving.

Hotch stood up and looked at Emily. "I'm going to the pharmacy while you get dressed, okay?" He said and she nodded. He leaned down to press a kiss on her forehead and let it linger for a few seconds before leaving the room.

The nurse who was cleaning the machine looked at Emily with a knowing look. "You have a good one there..."

Emily looked at the way he had left and nodded slowly. "I know..."

/*/*/*/

They walked the steps towards her apartment in silence. Actually, they hadn't spoken with each other ever since they left the hospital. There wasn't any awkwardness or heaviness in the air but they chose to stay quiet, thinking about their night.

Emily opened the door to let them in and they hung their coats on the hall closet. "Do you want to drink something?" She asked him as they stepped into the kitchen.

"No, it's late... I think you should get some rest... It was a rough night, too stressful..." He said shaking his head.

"Yeah, I think you may be right..." She murmured.

There was a beat of silence before he cleaned his throat. "I'm going to go and let you have your rest, then..." He said motioning to the door. "Do you need anything else?" He asked.

Emily fidgeted with the hem of her shirt and bit her lip before looking up at him with big pleading eyes. "Do you really have to go?" She asked lowly and quietly.

Hotch sighed and shook his head no. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked quietly.

"I really don't want to be alone right now..." She whispered at him and he nodded.

"Guest room?" He asked and knew by the look on her face that it was not what she wanted. "Okay..." He nodded again and gestured to the stairs.

They walked up to her bedroom and Hotch stood awkwardly in the middle of the room while she searched for something in her drawers. "Here... I ordered the wrong size and didn't return it... I think it'll fit..." She said giving him a white t-shirt. He unfolded it and raised an eyebrow to her when he saw the stamp.

"Harry Potter?" It had Platform 9 3/4 - Kings Cross - London written.

"Yeah, big news, I'm a geek..." She said exasperated. "But you got the reference, buddy, so you're one too!" She said pointing her finger.

"Potter's fun..." He said with a shrug and she smiled.

"I'm going to take a quick shower. Wash off this hospital smell of me…" She said grabbing a pair of flannel pajamas and heading to the bathroom. Hotch shed himself off of his jeans and polo shirt and put the t-shirt on, walking downstairs to check the locks, shut everything down and grab a glass of water. He also texted his mother to tell her they would come over for dinner on the next day.

When he returned, ten minutes later, Emily was already back in the bedroom, dressed in pink pajamas with lime green dots, brushing her hair sitting on the bed. "Nice pajamas…" He joked and chuckled at her blush. "I texted mom… she said she'll be expecting us by six-thirty…" He said handing her the glass of water and grabbing the brush out of her hand.

"That sounds good…" She said while sipping the water and smiled when he sat behind her and started to brush her hair. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Emily sighed and turned around to look at him. "I'm sorry for what I said… on the way to the hospital…" She murmured and he dropped his eyes down.

"It's okay, I understand…" He said but she shook her head quickly.

"It's not. It was mean and needless and more important, it's not true…" She said grabbing his hands. "I've met another side of you these past few weeks and even though you have this strong façade you are caring and thoughtful and so damn sweet when you want to be and I'm sorry for saying those things to you… I was scared and didn't think about what I was saying… I don't know what I would've done if it wasn't for you…" She said and he just squeezed her hand and offered a smile.

"Let's get some rest now, uh?" He suggested and she nodded.

They arranged themselves under the covers, both on their sides facing each other, their hands intertwined between them. "You called me sweetheart." Emily whispered breaking the silence a few moments later.

"What?"

"In the car, before I said those things, you called me sweetheart…" She said with a small smile.

"I did?" He asked frowning.

"Mhmm. See? You are a sweet guy when you want to be…" She said with a glint of amusement in her eyes and a wider smile.

Hotch snorted and released her hand, laying on his back and pulling her beside him, one arm under her head and the other hand capturing hers again and resting on his chest. "Don't tell anyone." He said in a mock serious tone and she chuckled.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me…" She said before closing her eyes.

 **A/N: Next chapter will be the introduction of Emily and Anna. It should be up by Monday or Tuesday at least. I love reviews and I'd love to know what you think of this.**


	13. A Day With You

**A/N: Hello everyone! I know it's been a while but I explained how things are crazy and even though they're starting to settle again I'm still very busy. I wrote this on my cellphone because I only had time between my meetings and classes and it was hard to use the computer, but I didn't want to stay too long without updating. I'm really graterful for all your reviews and alerts and everything (we're over one-hundred followers in this fic and I'd never had that and I'm so happy!), so thank you so very much. I'm really happy and grateful.**

 **This chapter will be the introdution to Anna and another leap towards our agents getting together. I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this.**

Chapter 13: A day with you.

"Em..." Emily heard the soft voice calling her name and felt the slight nudge on her arm.

"Mmm." She just hummed in response and buried her face in the pillow, hearing a small chuckle. There was another nudge, in her shoulder this time, and she opened her eyes barely, trying to focus on the person leaning towards her.

"C'mon, sleepyhead. You need to eat to take your medicines..." Hotch said with an amused smile at her.

"Mmm. Don't wanna get up..." She whined, winning another chuckle.

"Good thing you don't have to then, uh? Look..." He said gesturing to the tray on the foot of the bed. Emily's eyes widened, suddenly alert, and she sat up on the bed staring at the tray. It was filled with pancakes, orange juice, milk, a few slices of melon and a small ball with cereal. "I didn't know what you were feeling up to so I brought a few options. The pancakes are blueberries' and the juice is fresh..." He said placing the tray on her lap.

Emily stared the tray for a few moments before looking up at him. "You really shouldn't do things like this to a woman full of hormones." She murmured and he chuckled.

"I did it for the mother of my baby. She deserves it..." He said with a soft voice and a shrug.

Emily smiled at him before taking a sip of the juice. "I'd never had breakfast in bed, you know..." She said quietly while taking one pancake in her plate.

Hotch looked at her intensely before shaking his head slightly. "I don't understand your luck with men..." At her raised eyebrow he completed. "You're beautiful, Emily. In fact, you're pretty much gorgeous, and sweet, caring, strong, smart... I could go on for hours... I think I just can't understand how a guy is capable of not treating you right... you deserve everything that's good..." He finished and saw her eyes watering.

"Hormones, Hotch. Hormones..." She said while wiping her eyes.

He brushed his thumb under her eye to help to brush the tear that fell. "I'm sorry... but it's true..." He said with a shrug. "But let's eat, okay? You need to take the pills... you can rest more after that... no reason to leave the bed so soon..." He said taking one pancake to himself.

"You staying?" She asked quietly without looking up from her plate.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked and she shrugged before answering.

"If you want to... we could watch a movie, I don't know..." She said while taking a bite of her pancake.

"Emily." Hotch said taking her hand. She looked up at him and he squeezed it before continuing. "Anytime you want me to be here, if you're bored or don't want to be alone or any other reason, all you have to do is ask. My life is about being Jack's father and Agent Hotchner and that's it. And today, I have you as a priority too and anything you need, anything at all, Em, I'll do it. Aside from mom, you're the most important woman in my life today. Anything you need I'll give it to you..." He said seriously and then smiled at the look on her face.

"Seriously, Hotch, stop playing with my hormones..." She said slapping his thigh. "Thank you, though..." She said sobering up. "I'm not used with people taking care of me, so I'm still adjusting with that..."

"I understand that, even though I'm sorry... but you better get used to it because that's who I am. I will fuss you and hover you anytime I worry and you're going to be pissed at me from time to time because you are independent and don't like people telling you what to do. I apologize previously but I can't help it. You're my friend and you're carrying my baby and I can't even think about something happening to you." He said.

"I know... I'll work on it and I promise to try not to shoot you everything you fuss about me..." She said and he smiled nodding. They finished their breakfast, Hotch gave her the pills and they decided to rest a bit more before getting up.

It was almost noon when they finally got off the bed and Emily took a shower while Hotch started to cook a grilled chicken with vegetables for lunch. He took his shower while Emily finished the food and soon they were sitting at the dinner table eating.

"So... you told me your mom is excited about this, right?" Emily asked.

"She's thrilled." He said nodding. "Of course she knows the truth about how it happened but she doesn't care about that... she's just glad that we decided to have this baby and that she'll have another grandkid to spoil..."

"And how is she? She seems to be very vivacious and strong..." She asked.

"She is... Mom is a prettier version of me in skirts." He joked. "Life was pretty hard on us and we had to learn to be strong..." He saw her watching him for a while, knowing what she wanted to say. "You can ask, Em..."

"I'm sorry, I just..." She shook her head a bit embarrassed. "Was it your father?" She asked quietly.

Hotch dropped his gaze to his plate and stayed silent for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "My childhood wasn't easy. Dad was a very conservatory southern man and he valued family and principles, being very rigid about religion and stuff like that. At least it was what he let the others see..." He started. "At home he was a man who struggled to do his obligations and provide what a family needed. Safety, peace, love... At first he wasn't violent. He'd get mad and yell at me and mom when we bothered him but that was it. There was this night though, when I was seven and I was playing with my favorite truck when he came home late and drunk. I was sitting on the living room floor and I never saw the blow coming." He finished with a deep breath. Emily reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"You don't have to..." She murmured and he nodded at her.

"I know... but I want you to know..." He said and squeezed her hand back before continuing. "The next day he came home with a new toy, like nothing had happened. It happened again and mom intervened. She had to cover the black eye with make-up for almost a week..." He said with a shudder. "Eventually we started to alternate between us to get the blows. We got used to it. I had a whole new shelf of toys in my room and mom always had some Aloe Vera lotion to help with the bruises... The nine months of Sean's pregnancy were the worst for me. He wasn't stupid to hit on a pregnant woman, so I got more than my share of bruises in that time... After he was born it stopped for a while. But then it started again, and with an infant, it was easier to get him pissed. Mom and I did everything we could to protect Sean from him and that gave us a few scars that we have until today. I was fifteen when the officer knock on our door to notify us about a car accident. He was killed immediately. The officer thought we were crying for sorrow..." He finished with a humorless chuckle.

"Oh my God..." Emily whispered after he was finished and couldn't avoid the few tears from falling.

"I used to get angry with mom, because she wouldn't leave him or do anything to keep us safe from him, but… I understood later why we couldn't leave. Mom doesn't have family and the friends she had were because of him so they wouldn't help her. We didn't have anywhere to go and no condition to start a new life without him…" He explained. "As I grew up I started to understand all of that and support her through everything. I guess that's why were so close. We went through hell and survived, together…"

"I am so sorry, Aaron..." She said with a broken voice and he smiled sadly at her.

"Ssh... don't cry, Emily..." He said squeezing her hand. "Come here..." He said nudging her by her hand until she got up and walked towards him, pulling her onto his lap. "It's okay... it's over and he's dead..." He said shushing her, her head resting on his shoulder, breath heavy against his neck, his hands caressing her back.

"I'm sorry..." She murmured quietly.

"It's okay... everything is okay..." He murmured in her ear. They stayed sitting there for a few seconds in silence before Hotch spoke again. "You called me Aaron..." He said with a smile.

Emily lifted her head to look at him with startled eyes. "What?"

"You called me Aaron..." He repeated.

"I'm sorry?" She said hesitantly and he chuckled.

"Sweetheart, we slept snuggled in the same bed last night, I made you breakfast in bed, you're currently sitting in my lap, we're going to have dinner with my mother, not to mention that you're carrying my baby. I think it's more than fair for you to call me by my name..." He said amusedly and chuckled at the blush in her face when he mentioned their position.

"Okay... Aaron..." She said and his smile widened.

"I kind of like it..." He murmured and she smiled. "Thank you for listening... I never told this story to anyone..." He confessed. "I'm sure Haley saw the marks in my back but she never asked and I never told her..."

"Thank you for trusting in me..." She murmured.

"I trust you with my life..." Hotch answered before nudging her up. "C'mon, do you want to see something in particular or just to flip some channels?" He asked while walking to the living room.

"Let's just see what's good on tv..." She said with a shrug.

"Then sit down and get comfy while I'm going to put our dishes on the sink and grab us some ice-cream I saw earlier on the fridge..." He said.

"Mmm. I knew I kept you around for a reason..." She hummed and he chuckled. He came back a few minutes later with a bowl of chocolate mint ice-cream and sat beside her, smiling when she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What are we watching?" He asked.

"There's a rerun of Friends... It's season seven, my favorite..." She answered while they watched Chandler trying to smile to a camera.

"I've never watched..." Hotch commented.

"What? This season or this episode?"

"This show..." He answered and groaned when she pushed herself up forcefully with her hand on his chest.

"What?!" She gasped. "You've never watched Friends? In which world are you?!"

"I'm sorry for my fault, Miss Prentiss, but no, I've never watched Friends..." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no. No father of my baby can be that negligent." She said getting up from the couch and walking to her DVD shelves. "We're educating you, starting right now..." She pulled a white box of DVDs and took one DVD.

"You have the whole show in DVD?" He asked chuckling.

"It's Friends, Aaron. Of course I have it in DVD." She said with an obvious tone.

"How many seasons are there exactly?"

"Ten." She said while starting the DVD.

"Well... We've got at least thirty weeks left to educated me before our girl or boy is here, so..." He said gesturing to his side for her to sit. While Rachel was trying to explain the metaphor of the boot to her father, Hotch found himself actually laughing and looked to his side to find Emily staring at him. "What?"

"Thank you for putting up with my nerdiness." She murmured.

Hotch smiled at him and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, caressing her cheek. "Newsflash, Prentiss... I like your nerdiness..." He murmured back and leaned in to press a kiss on her forehead before settling down again and snuggling her to his side.

/*/*/*/

"It's an interesting neighborhood..." Emily commented while they were parking. They watched TV until four and then Emily got changed for dinner. They decided to swing by Hotch's apartment for him to change too before going to his mother.

"It's horrible, Emily, you can say it..." Hotch chuckled, killing the engine and opening his door. He walked around the car and opened Emily's, helping her out of the car.

"Why are you living here?" She asked. They were in front of Hotch's building. The block was full of old constructions, most of them ugly and deteriorated. There weren't any parks around and they couldn't see any kids playing or people in general walking or talking.

"I needed to get out of the house and I couldn't find any other place. I made a six month lease because my intention was to look for another place, but with the cases and meetings I really haven't had the time to look for it. Then I ended up signing for another six months and another. It'll end in a couple of months and I'll end up signing again..." He said with an unpleased voice while they walked to the second floor.

"Neighborhood is awful." Emily said.

"It really is. I think that two blocks down there's a drug dealer and maybe even a pimp." He attempted to joke. "I try to keep my identity under wraps as much as I can... security isn't so good too... I installed two extra locks in my apartment to make me feel better..." He said while opening the door.

"Again, why are you living here?" She asked incredulously. The living room was painted in an awful yellow shade and there were still a few boxes piled on the corner. There was an old leather couch in the middle of the room, a few book shelves, mostly empty, an entertainment center with a TV and a DVD player and a coffee table. The walls were empty and there wasn't a single thing that made the place look like Hotch's. It was impersonal and it didn't feel like home. "Do you really live here for almost two years?"

"I know it isn't much homey but..."

"Aaron, there're still boxes unpacked right there..." She said with a raised eyebrow.

He sighed before answering. "Okay. I hate it. I really do. I feel more comfortable in hotels during cases than here but it's what I have for now..."

"Why don't you ask for help? Garcia could put up a list with some of the best apartments in Virginia or Quantico in a minute and you know that..." She argued.

"You know I like to keep my private life out of the office, Emily..."

"But everybody knows you're divorced, Aaron. Everybody knows Haley left you and everybody knows you spent a lot of time to get over it. We're a family... we can help each other and there's nothing wrong with that..." She said. "I don't like here, Aaron. I don't like knowing you live in such an awful place. Do you even bring Jack here?"

"I only did it twice. There isn't really anything around that looks remotely inviting to him... mostly, when I have him we go to my mother's... I tell him grandma loves sleepovers..." He said with a shrug.

Emily sighed and walked towards him, touching his arm. "Let me help you to find another place? Please? I want you out of here..."

Hotch looked around the place before setting his eyes on her. "Okay..." He conceded.

"Okay?" He saw her face lighting up.

"Okay..." He smiled.

"Okay! I'll call a friend of mine who is a realtor and ask for her to select a few places..."

"As you wish..." He said squeezing the hand on his arm. "Now just give me a few minutes so I can change..." He said and she nodded, walking to the couch and sitting. She looked again at the labeled boxes in the corner and sighed. She really didn't like this place.

/*/*/*/

Emily was a nervous wreck.

It was six-fifteen when they rang the doorbell of Anna's house. She waited for the movement inside, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, palms sweating and shaking. "Hey." She startled at the sound of Hotch's voice. "Calm down, sweetheart. She'll love you..." Hotch reassured her while caressing her arm.

Before she could answer the door was swung open and she saw a tall woman, grey hair pulled up in a messy bum on the top of her head with a few strands falling on her ears, dressed in khaki pants and a white blouse with sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was smiling widely and the sparkle Emily saw in her eyes made her heart flutter with warmth and safety, something she couldn't understand.

"Oh my God, let me look at you!" Anna exclaimed, cupping Emily's cheeks with her hands. "Oh, baby, you were right... she's so beautiful!" She said looking at Hotch.

"Told you..." He said smiling. "Hi, mom". He greeted her leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Hello, sweetie." She smiled at him, hands still on Emily's cheek. "And it's so good to finally meet you, sweetheart..." Emily was startled with the hug she suddenly found herself into, but quickly recovered and hugged her back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hotchner..." She said with a smile while pulling back.

"Oh, darling, please, none of this Mrs. Hotchner thing. It's just Anna..." She said with a smile. "C'mon in you two. The dinner is almost ready, I hope you're hungry..."

"We're starving, actually. We didn't eat anything but ice-cream since lunch..." Hotch said after they got inside.

"Then it's a good thing I have a really big and cheesy delicious lasagna on the stove, right?" She said. "And Aaron told me you're addicted with chocolate so I made a very special mousse as desert..." She said with a wink as they sat at the living room. Hotch and Emily took the couch while Anna sat at the armchair. "And how are you feeling? Aaron told me about the bleeding..." She asked worried.

"I'm okay. The doctor said it was just a bladder infection and I'm taking the pills..." Emily answered.

"Oh, I'm glad. My grandbaby has to grow strong and healthy..." She said with a smile that Emily reciprocated.

"I sure hope so..."

"Now tell me more about you. Aaron told me your mom is an Ambassador..." She said.

Emily cleared her throat and sat straighter in the couch be for answering. "Yeah, she is. She's currently without any assignment so she's living in Richmond at our old house. But maybe she'll be send to Spain in a couple of months..."

"You must have traveled a lot while growing up..."

"I lost count... Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Athens, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, just to name a few..." Emily answered.

"I can tell you didn't like that a lot..." Anna commented.

"I hated it... any child just want to have a place to call home, somewhere safe, ours... I've never had that... it was always different houses, one bigger than the other, a lot of nannies and no one to play with... my mom always said she only had me because my father wanted a child. I guess that's why I don't understand completely why he left..." Emily didn't know why she was saying those things to someone she had barely met but she felt safe. Here, in this house, looking into those expressive eyes, feeling the warmth of Hotch sitting by her side, one arm dropped on the couch behind her head, she felt incredibly safe. It was a foreign feeling but also something so good and pure that her heart fluttered.

"And how did your mother take this pregnancy?" She asked.

Emily dropped her gaze to her lap and cleared her throat before answering. "Uh, I haven't told her yet…"

"Aren't you going to tell her, sweetheart?" Anna asked with a frown.

"I will. Of course, I will…" She nodded quickly. "I guess I'm just waiting a bit… maybe in the end of my first semester… I'm really not looking up for the argument I know we'll have…"

"Don't you think she'll be supportive?" Anna asked.

"I doubt she'll want to be involved at all. Mom is not really motherly. She never treated me bad, or hurt me, but she'd never had this mother thing on her, you know. I guess I doubt this'll change with her grandbaby…" Emily shrugged.

"I understand… can I give you an advice, though?" She asked.

"Of course…" Emily nodded.

"Give her a chance… who knows, maybe she'll surprise you… and if she doesn't, you use that experience to raise your own child, sweetheart. Where you didn't have space and safety, give it to him or her. Kids love a big house with a lot of space and a backyard… where you didn't feel loved, say everyday how much she or he is important. Give it to this child the life you've always wanted..." Anna said with a warm voice.

"I will..." Emily said promptly. "My baby is my priority and he or she will never doubt how much I love them or how much they're important to me..."

Anna smiled at her and then looked to her son with knowing eyes. "I really like her..."

Hotch smiled at his mother and looked at Emily's big dark eyes that now were staring at him, a bit sparkly with unshed tears, before looking at Anna again. "I knew you would..." He murmured before leaning down to press a kiss on Emily's forehead.

/*/*/*/

"Oh my God, this is absolutely incredible…" Emily moaned at the first bite of her mousse. They finished dinner and took their deserts to the living room, resuming their previous positions.

"I'm glad you like it, sweetheart. It's a family recipe… I'll write it up to you later…" Anna said and Hotch chuckled.

"Oh, for the love of all holy things don't say that in front of Haley. Or Jack…" At Emily's confused face he continued. "Ever since Haley and I got married she tried to get this recipe from mom but she never gave it to her… she always said it was a family secret…"

"And it was. And I knew Tiffany wouldn't be in the picture forever. She was too much selfish and superficial for you to put up with her. You're too smart and handsome for that…" Anna added.

"Wow, you really hate her…" Emily breathed.

"Hate is a strong word. I dislike her. Ever since I met her I knew she was wrong for my Aaron. Like I said, she's too much selfish and superficial for my taste. I've always she wasn't good enough for my baby…" Anna explained.

"I have to agree with you on that." Emily murmured.

"I'm glad you think so." Anna smile. "And since we're speaking of the devil, how did she take things last night, baby?" Anna asked looking at Hotch.

"What?" Emily asked confused.

"I told Haley about our baby last night..." He said and Emily's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"Mom was asking me to invite you for lunch and saying she wanted to meet you and we didn't see Haley coming. She asked who was Emily and I told her everything..." He explained.

"And what did she said?"

"You mean before or after she had a fit because I slept with a subordinate?" He asked rhetorically. "She wasn't happy at all. She kept saying that she'd never expect this from me and that I should be proud of how classy I was, bla, bla, bla, etcetera. I told her she had nothing to do with it and the only reason I was telling her was because Jack would be involved."

"She must've been thrilled with that..." Anna chuckled.

"I told her I wanted to introduce Jack and Emily and she tried to deny but I let it clear that he's my son too and I have a say in things concerned to him and that Emily doesn't present any risk to him... then she tried to imply that I would neglect Jack because of the new baby since I don't have time for anything but I told her it wouldn't be a problem because Emily would never be inflexible about my visitations and she would never keep my child away from me so I'd have to choose between he or she and Jack..."

"I would never..." Emily confirmed and he smiled.

"I know..."

"I find incredibly how she always manages to make me dislike her more. First she makes your life hell while you were married, then she cheats on you before leaving without any explanation and taking your son away with her, and now she tries to disqualify you as a father..." Anna said shaking her head.

Emily's eyes snapped to Hotch's in the middle of her speech, incredulous. "Wait a minute. Haley cheated on you?"

Hotch closed his eyes briefly before nodding his head. "Remember when I told you her part in our divorce was big? Well..."

"Wow." Emily breathed. "Please, never leave me alone in a room with that woman..." She said and Hotch chuckled.

"Don't worry, I won't..." As he locked his eyes with his mother he could see what she was thinking in that moment. _I really liked her, baby._

/*/*/*/

"Thank you for coming… mom was really happy to finally meet you… she liked you a lot…" Hotch said with a smile as he parked in front of Emily's building.

"It was really a pleasure. She is so incredible…" Emily smiled. "I really liked her too…"

"I'm glad for that… it's very important to me for you two to get well… it's enough her bad relationship with Haley." He said with a shudder and she chuckled.

"I don't blame her, though. I'd already thought that before but after what you told me earlier I'm even more confident. Haley's a bitch, selfish and stupid because she had one of the finest represent of the male specimen and she let him go…" She said and he chuckled.

"Thank you, I guess…"

"Do you want to come in?" She asked unfastening her seatbelt.

"It's late…" He answered looking at his watch. "You should get some rest. We have work tomorrow early and probably a new case…"

"Okay… I see you tomorrow then?"

"Maybe I could come over to make you breakfast… you have to eat well to take your meds…" He suggested and her smile widened.

"Okay."

"Then I'll be back by seven… Good night, Emily. Sweet dreams…" He said leaning in to kiss her cheek.

Emily's eyes fluttered closed for a second while the kiss lingered for a few moments more than the usual and she sighed contently. "Good night, Aaron. Text me when you get home." She asked opening the door.

"Will do. Bye." He waved and she closed the door, smiling when he waited until she was inside before leaving. If there were butterflies in her tummy all the way up to her condo and if she could still feel the press of his lips on her cheek after she got into the bed, that still held his smell from the night before, she chose to ignore that.

 **A/N: And now we're on first name basis, yay! Lol. We will introduce the Ambassador soon enough in this fic and I'm still deciding what will be her posture through everything. I have two versions in my mind about how things will develop on that end, so let's see what will I decide. Next chapter we'll see them telling Strauss about the baby. How will the brat take it?**

 **Reviews are incredibly appreciated and I love them. Please, feel free to tell me what you think.**


	14. Changes at the office

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'd like to thank you all for your reviews and support during this fic. I'm really happy to see how much you guys are enjoying this, and this makes me want to write it, even when I don't have the time. Speaking of which, I know it's been a while since I last posted in I Grow Fonder Every Day and Of Villains and Heroes and I'm really sorry for that. When I have the time I only seem to want to write in this fic and I know I'm neglecting my other works but I promise I'm trying. I have half chapter ready of OVH and I'll try to finish it byt the end of the week and also work on the new one of IGFED. Thank you for your patience and I promise it'll be worth it.**

 **This chapter will be a bit fluffy and a bit angst because we have a couple-moment-supercute and the talk with Strauss *tun tun tun tuuuun* Emily's reaching the end of her tenth week and things are about to get a bit busy at work. I hope you guys like it. I'm sorry for any errors.**

Chapter 14: Changes at the office.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Hotch asked as he popped his head inside Dave's office.

"Sure, c'mon in." He gestured inside and the younger man came in, closing the door behind him and taking a seat at one of the visitor's chairs. "What's up?"

"Emily is finishing her tenth week and I think it's time for us to come clean with the Bureau." Hotch started and Dave winced.

"Oh, and you're worried about Erin..." He said nodding. "How do you think she's going to take it?" He asked.

"I have no idea. It could go smoothly or she could make our lives miserable for as long as she's able to it." He said rubbing his face. "If I could guess I'd say that she'll use it to get rid of me. After what she did with our kidnapping I know for sure that she'll make everything she can to ruin my career. She just can't understand that I'm not interested in her position or in leaving the BAU whatsoever..." He sighed.

"And what do you pretend to do?" Dave asked.

"That's why I'm here. I'm going to transfer Emily to under your supervision starting tomorrow. It's not only because of Strauss but for me too. I know I won't be able to be objective if she gets in danger in the field. Just the prospect of something happening to her is… unbearable..." He said with a visible shudder.

Dave watched him for a few moments before clearing his throat and speaking with a slightly amused voice. "You two seem to be very close these last few days..." That was really an understatement. After he introduced Emily to his mother, a little over a week before, they had spent practically every single time off together. Emily had indeed called her friend who was a realtor and they had seen two apartments already but neither of them had worked for him. Since Emily was very sincere about how much she didn't like his apartment, Hotch had spent three out of five days they spent at home in her place, the other three days they were out of state in a case in Louisiana.

They established a routine of leaving work together, eating dinner, either in a restaurant or at home, and then curling up on her couch to watch a movie or some Friends' episodes. Hotch found himself actually yearning for those evenings, enjoying to not go home to an empty and ugly apartment, having someone to talk and enjoy a nice dinner, being able to just let the Agent Hotchner at the door and be simply Aaron, without big expectations or anything. He enjoyed to laugh along with some stupid joke and to trust someone enough to let his guard down.

"We have been talking a lot and had some dinners together, yes." Hotch said because he knew it was useless to try to deflect any question Dave asked.

"I see. And if Strauss asked you if you are or will be involved in a romantic relationship, what will you say?" He asked and Hotch suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and sigh.

"Emily and I are not in a relationship." He said firmly and Dave just raised an eyebrow at him. This time he couldn't help but sigh and drop his eyes to the desk. "I honestly don't know, Dave. Ten weeks ago I would never even consider entering into a relationship with Em, but now... it's not entirely an absurd idea."

"I see." Dave nodded and thankfully didn't pursue the subject. "Don't worry about Emily's evaluations. I'll be happy to do it from now on, as I said before. And regarding to Erin, feel free to ask for anything you may need. I have a few tricks on my sleeve if she starts giving you any problems." He offered. "If she follows the procedure, she'll schedule a meeting with you two to discuss the situation and what are your plans to the future and also ask for a full report from Emily's new supervisor, maybe a few weeks after the change, to see how things are going regarding your posture at the field. If she wants to go deeper she could ask for the whole team to give statements about your performance as the team leader and your and Emily's ability to remain objective and even decide to follow us into a case to see for herself how things are being dealt. Anything other than that she'll be overstepping and then you can argue about it."

"Thank you, Dave. I hope to God she doesn't give us hell but anyway, thanks..." He said with a nod.

"No problem. And don't forget to check your stories with Emily in case she wants to talk to you two alone." He advised and the younger man nodded again. "Now, how about a few rounds at our usual bar? My treat." He offered and before Hotch could answer his phone beeped with a new message.

\- How about Thai food and those last few episodes? I'll order in and you bring the ice cream. E. -

Hotch smiled at his phone and answered with a count me in and looked back at his friend, who was now eyeing him with an amused smile. "I guess that's a no, then?" He asked with a smirk.

Hotch dropped his gaze and smiled embarrassedly. "Yeah... sorry but I already have plans..."

"I should be offended because I most definitely asked you first but I guess the other option is much more appealing, uh?" He said and chuckled at the attempt to glare he received back. "Go have a nice night with your baby mommy, Aaron. Tomorrow we'll deal with Erin."

"Bye, Dave." He said getting up ignoring the smirk and left the office. He quickly went to his office to grab his briefcase and to leave for the day. Emily had left as soon as the clock hit five, saying that she was feeling too tired and wanted to take a nap. He had noticed that she'd been feeling more tired as the days passed, having come to his office a couple of times through the week to get some rest at his couch and leaving for work earlier than the usual. During the case he also noticed she starting to rub her eyes when the night came in and made sure to end the work for the day early so she could go to the hotel to get some rest.

As he filled his briefcase he looked at the time and noticed that it had been almost two weeks since he had last left the office after seven. Ever since his divorce he started to do crazy hours at the office, sometimes leaving only after eleven or twelve and even sometimes not leaving at all, because he found more appealing to stay at work, keeping his head occupied and distracted than to go home and have a constant reminder that he was now alone. He smiled as he shut the lights office. It was a good change, he couldn't help but think.

/*/*/*/

"I spoke to Dave before coming here..." He said sometime later. He had bought vanilla ice-cream on his way and took a shower before they started eating dinner. He knew by now that when Emily invited him over it was implicit that he was staying overnight so he had his go-bag in hand when he arrived.

They had eaten at the living room floor while watching the last few episodes of season two and now they were curled on Emily's couch eating the ice-cream. "About what?" She asked looking at him.

"I'm going to transfer your evaluations to him starting tomorrow." He said and she nodded slowly. "I think it's time for us to come clean, Emily."

Emily groaned and dropped her bowl of ice-cream at the coffee table. "Ugh. There it goes a perfectly good mood... do we really have to?"

"Well. You'll be showing soon enough so we have to at least announce your pregnancy, but I'd like to clear everything since the beginning. We won't hide the paternity from anyone, I'll be present in every step of the way so I think it'd be wiser if we just get everything out clear right now." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"I really hate when you're all rational..." She buffed.

"And when am I not rational?" He asked and she mock glared at him.

"I know you're right, but... that woman will make our lives hell, Aaron." She said and he nodded slowly.

"I know that Emily, but that doesn't change the fact that she is our boss and we are obligated to report this to her. What if she finds out from someone else or by seeing us together or something? We're not being exactly subtle about our proximity, Em." He said looking pointedly at her.

Emily sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I know. And when do you pretend that we tell her?" She asked.

"Tomorrow, providing that we're not called in a case. I'm going to schedule an appointment for some time after our briefing and tell her. If she decides that she wants to talk to you, I'll call you in…" He said and she frowned.

"Don't you think I should be there too? I mean, I'm the one who's pregnant." She said.

"Absolutely not." He said and she raised her eyebrows questionably. "Emily, whatever I can do to keep you out of that woman's reach I'll do it. I've been taking her crap for a very long time and I won't let her get her claws on you. I'm the supervisor and we only have to report to her because I'm the father. If you were just pregnant you'd report to me and change your files at the HR and that was it. Please, let me take this out of you as much as I can…" He pleaded and Emily sighed before nodding at him.

"I don't like it… but, okay, you can go alone. It's not fair though." She complained.

"Nothing related to Strauss is fair, Em." He said and she chuckled, unfolding her feet from under her and groaning while stretching herself.

"You have a point there, but I still don't like it…" She complained. "Ugh, my feet are so sore…" She groaned while wiggling her toes. "I feel like I'm going to have to abandon my boots soon…" She said with a pout.

"I honestly can't imagine Agent Prentiss without her boots." Hotch said with a smile. "Gimme them." He said gesturing to her feet. As she placed them on his lap he started to massage them, making her groan appreciatively. "I should've told you that I'm very good with massages…" He said amusedly.

"Yeah, you definitely should…" She said between moans. "God, Aaron, that feels so good!" She closed her eyes and groaned deep on her throat at a particular twist on her foot. Hotch smiled at her and continued to work on her toes and up her heels, stopping at her calves and going back to her toes.

"You have really nice feet…" He commented while looking at her pink toenails and she snorted. "I'm serious… they're smooth and delicate and pretty. Womanly. And they smell nice." He finished and she laughed.

"I'm starting to think you have a foot fetish, Agent Hotchner." She said looking at him with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Believe me, with these feet" he said squeezing it "if I had a foot fetish, you'd be pinned into this couch by now, Emily." He said and she fought against a shiver at the tone of his voice. "I'm simply an appreciator." He shrugged.

"Okay, Mr. Appreciator…" She said and groaned again at the pleasurable pressure at her muscles. "You know… I was thinking last night before sleeping… we could start thinking about names…"

"But we don't even know the gender yet…"

"I know… but we could come up with a name if it's a boy and another if it's a girl…" She suggested. "Honestly, I think I don't want to find out the sex… I'd rather have a surprise at the birth…" She confessed and looked at him. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all, sweetheart." He smiled at her. "So, do you have any names in mind?"

"I was thinking about a few…" She smiled. "If it's a girl, I think I'd want to use my grandmother's name, as a middle name, you know…"

"Which is?"

"Catherine."

"Catherine." Hotch tested. "I like it. It's strong." He smiled at her.

"You do?" She asked brightly.

"I really do." He nodded. "Do you have any ideas for the first name?"

"I have a few options, but I want you to choose it too…"

"Tell me your options and I'll tell you what I think about them. Then I'll tell you may options and we can narrow down by then…" He suggested and she nodded.

"Okay. So, I was thinking… how about Amber?" She asked and by the twitch in his nose she knew he didn't like it. "No?"

"I'm sorry…" He winced. "I really don't like it…"

"It's okay… now you suggest one…" She said nudging him with her foot.

"Let's see. How about Emma?" He suggested and she looked at him pensively.

"Emma?" Emily pondered. "I think I like it… it's definitely an option…" She nodded and he smiled. "What about Leah?"

"Leah? Uh." Hotch frowned and then smiled slowly. "You know what, I'd never think of that name, but I really like it. Leah Catherine Prentiss-Hotchner. It fits, it's strong and powerful." He said and looked at her, frowning at the look on her face. "What?"

"I don't think I want this hyphening thing." She said and saw Hotch's face fall.

"Oh. I see…" He muttered. "Leah Catherine Prentiss, then. It's just as beautiful, I really like that one…" He attempted to smile but this time it was perceptive how it didn't reach his eyes and she smiled inwardly.

"Aaron, that's not what I meant." She said and he raised an eyebrow questionably. "I can be a very independent woman and sometimes a bit feminist but there're subjects that I'm still very conservative about it. I meant that I want the baby to have your name and your name only. We aren't married and I'm not Emily Hotchner but I want the baby to carry your name." She explained and tried to read Hotch's expression but he managed to keep his mask held in place and to not show the mess he was inside after her words.

"Oh." He wasn't prepared to the fluttering feeling in his stomach at the thought of her having his last name, so he took a few moments to be able to form words again. "If… if you're sure, Emily…" He stammered and she smiled softly at him, sitting straight on the couch and leaning slightly towards him, her hands coming to stroke his hair.

"I'm more than sure. I'm proud of having you as the father of my baby, Aaron. Honestly, I couldn't think of a better man to choose for the job…" She murmured and smiled at the way he wasn't able to control his emotions this time.

He chuckled embarrassedly and dropped his head. "I may not be full of hormones but there're certain things that my heart can't take it, Em…" He murmured and she chuckled softly.

"Let's go to bed now? I'm tired and our day will be busy tomorrow…" She said with a shudder. He nodded at her and got up, offering his hand to her to get up. They locked everything and went through their bedtime routine, before falling together at Emily's bed. Both agents agreed to pretend it didn't mean anything the way they were used to sharing a bed now, even though Emily still had her guest room available for Hotch. "Do you think she's going to come too hard on us?" Emily whispered once she was settled in Hotch's arms, her head resting on his shoulder and one hand placed right against his heart.

"I honestly don't know. We know the odds… she hates us. But I honestly don't know." He murmured back. "But it doesn't matter what she does. We're in this together, sweetheart. Okay?"

"Okay." She whispered and snuggled closer to him, enjoying the feeling of safety and peace that only he was able to bring to her.

/*/*/*/

"Agent Hotchner? The Section Chief will see you now. Please, follow me." Strauss assistant directed Hotch towards the office. The team had finished their briefing at eleven and the unit chief had scheduled the meeting with his boss for eleven-thirty. He was sure that Emily was a wreck down the bullpen waiting for him to come back but he stand to his decision to keep her out of this as much as he could, especially in her condition. He had come in early and filled all the paperwork that transferred Emily's evaluations to under Dave's supervision and had already sent it to the HR, and now had a copy in his hands to show to Strauss after explaining the situation.

"Good morning, ma'am." He greeted the chief politely as he entered her office.

"Agent Hotchner." She nodded at him and gestured to the visitor's chair. "What's the reason of this meeting?" She asked straightly.

"I filled these files at the HR this morning, transferring Agent Prentiss's evaluations to Agent Rossi's supervision, starting today. He'll be responsible of any decisions regarding to her participations on the field, saved from situations when I need to step in quickly to make a tactical decision." He said passing the files to her.

"And what is the reason for this change?" She asked after running her eyes through the paperwork.

Hotch took a deep breath before answering, keeping his face cool and posture firm. "Several weeks ago, Agent Prentiss and I got involved into an intimate situation. It was a one-time thing and we both agreed that it shouldn't happen again due to our positions. However, last week we discovered that that situation produced results, and we can't no longer ignore it or let it in the past. So, to avoid any conflict of interests or possible questionings in my conduct as her supervisor, we're following the procedure and taking her out of my league of direct responsibility."

Strauss looked at him in astonishment for a few moments before clearing her throat. "Let me get this straight. You and Agent Prentiss slept together and now she's pregnant with your baby?" She asked incredulously.

"That is correct, ma'am." He nodded.

"Do you have any idea how serious is this? You knocked up your subordinate, Aaron!" She exclaimed.

"I'm completely aware of how serious is this, ma'am, and that's why we're taking all the providences immediately. Agent Rossi is aware and agreed with the changes and the team was informed of the situation and also agreed with the way we decided to deal with everything. I know that it's not the ideal situation but we both know that even though it's heavily frowned up it's not prohibited and we're not breaking any rules since we're both consents and aware of the situation. I'm following the procedure, changing Emily's command and informing you of everything, so I think everything is covered the way it should be." He said calmly and watched the way her face hardened.

"You're absolutely right when you say that this is not the ideal situation. This is way beyond the ideal situation, Aaron, and I honestly expected a lot more of you." She spat. "I'm going to notify the Director of this situation and see what he things of you two staying together in the same team. After what happened in Ely, you two are being watched closely and this will be interesting to analyze your postures. By the way, when exactly this happened?"

"Eleven weeks ago, ma'am. And I don't see any problems with our postures together in the field before or after the incident in Ely. As I said before, we were ambushed by the unsub and spent several hours held captive without any serious injuries or anything of the kind. It was a delicate situation but we dealt it the best way and the unsub was found in time." He said firmly, his voice even.

"We'll see about that. Tell Agent Rossi that I expect reports evaluating yours and Agent Prentiss posture at the field in the next few weeks and after I talk with the Director I'll join your team in a case of my choice to see for myself the way things are being dealt. I advise you two to keep your eyes open and work according with the rules because your situation isn't pretty right now, Agent Hotchner. You're dismissed." She said and it took every bit of control for him to not answer properly.

"Ma'am." He nodded and got up.

"One last thing, Agent." She called before he could leave. "What is your relationship with Agent Prentiss?" She asked.

"We are not involved in a romantic relationship at the moment." He answered promptly and she raised an eyebrow.

"At the moment?"

"Yes, ma'am. At the moment. Excuse me." He said and left the office, knowing that his worries regarding his Section Chief were just starting.

 **A/N: There you go. We'll see how it will be this case with her watching them closer later. Reviews are awesome and I really enjoy them. Feel free to tell me what you think. :)**


	15. Important Things and Important Feelings

**A/N: I know, it's been almost a month and I'm sorry. I honestly don't have other excuse than that I was having serious case of writer's block and just couldn't finish anything. I thought about giving up but writing is something that makes me so happy and gives me such peace and I couldn't just let it go. So I took the whole night to focus just on my fics and I'm happy to say that I managed to finish this and also finish the plot of this fic, IGFED and OVAH. I'll post on the others sometime later today or tomorrow, but the updates will definitely be more frequent now. I'm sorry again. And I also came up with eleven different plots for new stories so I'm happy to say that you guys will hear more from me in the future.**

 **To redeem myself, this chapter is specially big, to make everyone happy. I hope you guys enjoy it and I'm sorry for any errors.**

Chapter 15: Important things and important feelings

Emily was beyond tired.

The team was working on their forth case in eighteen days and she could feel the energy being drained out of her every minute. Thankfully she had just finished her first semester, so the morning sickness was pretty much inexistent by now, but on the other hand, the tiredness and sleepiness had hit her full force in the last couple of weeks and the fact that the team was working in such crazy rhythm wasn't helping her at all.

She could feel Hotch's eyes on her back as she worked on the victimology in the conference room at the precinct of Boise, Idaho. The case was particularly brutal and she was having a hard time keeping a straight face at the ugliness of the crime scene photos. Dave and JJ had gone interview one of the victims' neighbors and the rest of the team was at the precinct trying to find any leads with the current information.

Three families had been brutally murdered in the last four weeks, the last one of them in the same day the team got in, on the previous day. They already knew they were looking for a team, probably two white males in their late thirties or early forties, both physically strong and incredibly sadists. The families were killed all the same way, the children first, their throats sliced; then the mothers were killed, all with at least three stabs at their stomachs, leaving them to bleed to death; finally the fathers were killed with a single stab in their hearts, the knife staying planted in their hearts.

The victims were somewhat similar. All white families, economically healthy, where the fathers worked in positions of power, a lawyer, a bank manager and the last one a businessman. The ages of the children went from five to thirteen and the gender also didn't matter. The murders all happened during the night and they managed to force their entry by the back door, without triggering the alarms.

"The neighbors didn't see a thing. Mrs. Danville said she went to bed at nine thirty with her husband and the Millers were already settled for the night, all lights off. She said she was up until midnight in her bedroom and didn't hear anything unusual, or noticed something wrong. Just in the next morning when she saw both cars still in the driveway at ten she thought something was up, because according to her, Mr. Miller left every day at seven for work and Mrs. Miller at eight to drop the kids at the school." Dave related as soon as they got into the conference room.

"Again, they managed to get in without being noticed, the alarms didn't work, they overpowered a whole family and killed them brutally and slowly without anyone hearing or noticing anything. This wasn't their first round. They have to have practiced it before somewhere, with lower victims. No one just starts killing like this, with this kind of ability and preparation, an MO so well set and without leaving a single fingerprint or footprints or any DNA." Morgan said and they all nodded.

"Call Garcia and ask her to look for similar crimes in the area or within a ten mile raid. Not exactly families, it can be prostitutes, homeless, high risk victims. Look for the same MO, stabs, throats sliced, brutality. Look also for home invasions, especially if the alarm didn't work. They could've practiced their method of entry before." Hotch directed and Morgan nodded. "Dave, a minute, please." He asked and both profilers walked out of the room.

"I already know what you're going to ask, and I agree." Dave said before the younger could open his mouth.

"She's dropping, Dave. You know I managed to step back until now with anything regarding to her but I can't ignore it…" He said with a heavy sigh. Ever since the older profiler had started to do her evaluations, Hotch had promptly stopped to think or decide about anything regarding to her in the field, leaving all her assignments and decisions about either she should go out or stay in the precinct to Dave to decide. Strauss had told him that the director had asked for him to document everything for the next four weeks and that he was expecting a full report about their situation. The Section Chief had yet come with the team on a case but all of them were waiting for her presence sooner or later.

"I know. It's already six-thirty so I think you should send everyone to have some dinner then the hotel. We haven't spent a day at home for the last eight days; we got back from North Caroline and jumped on the plane here in the same day. The whole team is exhausted, the fact that she's pregnant just adds to the situation." Dave said and Hotch nodded.

"You're right. After we get back from this case we deserve a full weekend off. The team needs to rest, both physically and mentally. This one is particularly bad." He said and Dave nodded before motioning back to the conference room.

"Garcia said she's going to expand her search through the new parameters and will call back as soon as she gets something." Morgan said and Hotch nodded.

"Okay. Let's wrap everything for today. We're all exhausted and up for over eighteen hours after we got the call for the new murder, so we need to get some rest. Let's eat something and settle at the hotel for the night and then we all come back tomorrow at eight. They won't attack again for the last couple of days, at least. We need to be able to work on this with our minds clear…" Hotch directed and they all nodded, starting to wrap things up. He saw Emily eyeing him knowingly at the corner of his eye and knew she was up to what he really thought before finishing the job for the day.

"I'm okay, you know." She murmured to him when they were walking out of the station.

"I know. And I want you to stay okay. We're all exhausted. You must be at your limit…" He said truthfully and she smiled slightly at him.

"I am. Thank you." He just smiled at her and opened the SUV's door for her to get in.

"There's a small Italian a few blocks further. It's Tuesday, we can get a table easily. I think I want some Fagioli…" Dave suggested and the others agreed before getting into the cars and driving towards the place. It was indeed easy to get a table and soon enough the team was sitting waiting for their orders.

"It's been a really long time since I last eat in a restaurant like this…" JJ said looking around.

"No date nights anymore, Jayje?" Morgan asked and she snorted.

"With an eight-month baby? Yeah, right, like that's just possible." She said rolling her eyes. "Prepare yourself my friend, babies mean no dates, no night-outs, no social life whatsoever." She said looking at Emily.

"Jayje, if I didn't date before getting pregnant do you really think I'm going to now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Nah, thank you very much. I don't need a jackass in my life now that I have my little one to worry about." She said dismissively. "And I'm much more a stay-in person. I love take-out and movie nights curled on the couch eating ice-cream. Getting out to fancy restaurants and walks at the park is not really my thing. Relationships should've been private, between me and my guy, not a fancy show of expensive wines and elegant dresses and things like that. Going out every once in a while, in an anniversary or some special night, okay, but on regular basis I like to stay in and enjoy my intimacy."

"Intimacy, uh?" Morgan said suggestively and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course you'd focus on that, jackass." She said and they laughed. "Anyway, I'm too much excited about having my baby to even think about dating or anything like that. I have no interest in meeting someone and trying to make him understand how things work, with my job and a baby to fill my time."

"Well, it'd be awfully impossible to find time to date in these circumstances, that's right…" Morgan said with a wince. "That's why I'll stick with practicing for a little while, thank you very much." He added with a wink.

"You're the one who's missing…" Hotch said. "There's nothing better in this world than hearing your baby's heartbeat or seeing it in a scan…" He said smiling, his arm resting at the back of Emily's chair, his fingers brushing her shoulder softly. She looked at him and smiled when he squeezed her shoulder quickly.

"Adding the fact that it's a hell of a turn on to see a woman pregnant with your baby…" Dave said with a wink and Hotch couldn't help but laugh, a slight blush creeping on his neck.

"I beg to differ…" He said and they all laughed.

"A turn on, uh?" Morgan asked.

"There's something… seeing her and knowing that there's part of you inside of her, growing, tying you two together till the rest of your lives… a real man will always see the mother of your baby as the most beautiful creature in the world. It has something to do with our alpha male tendencies, I think. You look at her and think, _mine_." Dave explained and they chuckled again. "Am I wrong?" He asked Hotch, raising an eyebrow.

Hotch cleared his throat and shifted in his seat before answering. "I can't completely disagree with you…" He said and Dave laughed at him along with the others.

"Yeah… you do anything for her, anything at all…" Dave continued. "Even the crazy desires and everything. I mean, Aaron, you just got into bed, you had the most tiring day, then your cellphone rings and it's Emily saying she wants ice-cream. What do you do?" He asked.

"I ask her which kind." The unit chief said promptly and they all laughed.

"See… it's instinct. She's the most important thing in the world for you…" Dave said.

"Okay, okay, but how do you know all of this, Rossi?" Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow and they all saw a sad smile taking place in the older profiler's face.

"I was a father… for a day. Carolyn, wife number one. He had a heart condition…" He explained and Emily took his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm so sorry, Dave…"

"It's okay, honey…" He said smiling at her. "It was a very long time ago… and I think this was making-Aaron-uncomfortable time…" He said and she chuckled.

"I think it's let's-get-some-food time…" Hotch said seeing the waiter coming back with their dishes. They all started to eat and continued to chat about anything but the case, trying to distract their heads after everything. They had all finishing their dishes and were just about to get the bill when JJ chuckled and pointed to her brunette friend.

"I guess is really time to get back to the hotel. Mommy Emily is tired…" She said. Emily was completely out, head dropped on Hotch's shoulder, her face tilted towards his neck.

"She's really exhausted…" Hotch murmured as he looked at her. The waiter came back with their bill and before Dave could get he raised his hand. "I'm sorry, but could you add a slice of chocolate cake to go? The most chocolate-ish you have…" He asked and the waiter nodded walking away.

"Chocolate cake?" Morgan asked.

"If she wakes up enough to notice it, she'll ask for it. And if she doesn't, she'll want to eat it sometime tomorrow…" He said and the dark profiler nodded with a smile. The waiter came back quickly with the cake and they split the bill and paid it, before getting up to leave. Hotch brought his hand to Emily's cheek and called her name softly, trying to wake her. "Em? Wake up, sweetheart…" He murmured, completely ignoring the looks on his teammates' faces at the endearment. Emily opened her eyes barely and looked at him sleepily, blinking lazily before smiling.

"Hi." She murmured and he thanked the gods for his ability to mask his emotions because in that moment, just like his friend said before, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and it scared him the way he felt the need to keep her safe and protect her from anyone and anything.

"Hi. Think you can stay awake until we get back to the hotel?" He asked and she nodded sleepily.

"Hold me?" She asked as they got up and he simply smiled at her, putting his hands around her shoulders and brushed a kiss on her hair.

"Always, sweetheart." He murmured just for her to hear and they joined their friends at the door, walking out of the restaurant and into the SUVs.

\\*\\*\\*\

"We have another murder." An officer popped his head into the conference room and announced the killing to the agents. It was now four days after the last attack and they still didn't have any leads to direct towards the unsubs. Garcia was working on a list of everyone who worked with alarms' installations and maintenance and also any services that could've been done in the houses in the last two months and could be related.

"Morgan, Rossi and Reid, come with me to see the new crime scene and interview the any possible witnesses. JJ and Emily, call Garcia and send her the information of the new family and ask her to add it to her searches. Also, check the geographical profile and see if the new crime scene adds something that could help us. Check the victimology too, see if there's something different about it…" Hotch said and all agents promptly jumped into action.

When they were walking to the SUVs the officer turned to them with a grim look on his face. "There's something different about this… victimology?" He said, testing the term.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"The woman… she was eight-months pregnant." He said and Hotch stopped cold and looked at him.

"He stabbed her? In her stomach? The baby?" He asked and the officer nodded.

"Six times. The baby is dead too." He said and Hotch closed his eyes briefly and sighed heavily.

"Let's catch these sons-of-a-bitches." He said. "Morgan, please text JJ and ask her to keep an eye on Emily. This case just got worse…" He asked and the dark profiler nodded, grabbing his cellphone.

\\*\\*\\*\

It was late when the team got back to the hotel. They processed the crime scene and waited for the coroner's reports to finish victimology, but still couldn't find a lead to the unsubs. Garcia had narrowed a list of possible suspects based on the parameters she was given but due to the time they couldn't go to check anyone of them, so they decided to get some rest before restarting in the next morning.

Hotch and Dave were just getting into their respective beds when there was a knock on the door. The team was asked to double up in the last few cases so Dave and Hotch were sharing a room while Reid and Morgan shared the other and JJ and Emily the last one. Hotch frowned and looked at Dave before walking to the door and opening it, his frown deepening at the sight that greeted him.

"Emily?" Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was puffy and she looked like she hadn't slept in a week.

"I can't close my eyes without seeing her…" She said quietly and her eyes started to water again. "She's dead and the baby…" she stopped with a deep breath. "I can't sleep, Aaron… please…" She pleaded and he couldn't ignore the ache on his chest at the sound of her voice.

He looked at Dave, who was watching the scene in silence, and the older profiler nodded at him quickly, giving his approval. "Come in, sweetheart." He said grabbing her hand and closing the door behind them.

"I'm sorry…" She murmured looking at Dave but the man just smiled sadly at her and nodded.

"Don't worry, Bella. I just hope you don't mind my snoring…" He said in an attempt of a joke and she chuckled briefly at him before nodding.

"C'mon, sweetheart. You need to get some rest…" Hotch said arranging the pillows and gesturing her to get into his bed. He shut off his bedside lamp before joining her and bringing her into his arms. He could feel her shivering and knew it wasn't because she was cold. "Ssh… everything is okay, Em…" He shushed her.

"I could see our baby there, Aaron… me in her place, our baby gone…" She said and this time he was the one to shudder at the image.

"You're here, Emily. You're okay, alive, and our baby is okay and growing inside of you each day. Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart. I'm here, I'm here and I'm never letting you go…" He whispered to her and she snuggled into his side even more closely, her head buried into his neck and his arms holding her close. "Everything will be okay…" He murmured once more and it was the last thing she heard before she let sleep catch her.

\\*\\*\\*\

It took two more days for them to solve the case. Thankfully they didn't have any other victims before they found the brothers James and Billy Taylor, and they were all happy to go home as they got into the jet. Emily quickly took one of the double chairs and one look had Hotch heading towards her and claiming the seat beside her. "Come over tonight?" She asked him hopefully and he smiled fondly at her.

"Of course, sweetheart." He said and opened a blanket, placing it in both their laps, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and bringing her into him. "There's nothing more I want than to hold you tonight…" He murmured into her hair and she almost purred at him. The memories of the photos of the pregnant woman stabbed to death in her stomach were still hunting them and they both needed the assurance that their own baby was okay, growing healthy and strong.

Hotch placed his hand on Emily's belly and caressed it slowly, relishing the feeling of her bump and her breathing into his neck. "Thank you…" She whispered and he just squeezed her into him again before closing his eyes and starting to leave the case behind.

\\*\\*\\*\

"You, gorgeous mommy, me and our favorite media liaison, were going to have an epic girls' night tonight, got it?" Garcia said while barging into the bullpen later that week as they were getting ready to leave for the weekend.

"Uh… okay?" Emily said hesitantly. "But please, no bars." She pleaded.

"Don't worry, were staying in. Your condo, okay?" She asked and Emily nodded thankfully.

"That's fine. We're ordering in?" She asked.

"I'm going to bring Chinese, Jayje will get the ice-cream and you get our favorite movies ready for us…" She directed and the brunette nodded at her with a smile.

"Okay, see you guys at seven?" She suggested and the blonde nodded at her, waving her goodbyes before leaving. Emily chuckled at her antics and walked up the stairs to say goodbye to Hotch. "Hey." She greeted him knocking at his open door.

He looked up from his files and smiled at her, getting up and walking from behind his desk to meet her. "Hey, are you good to go?"

"Yep. Just finished my files…" She nodded handing him the reports.

He placed the files at his table and looked at his watch before looking at her apologetically. "I have a budget meeting in twenty minutes but it shouldn't take too long. I can pick some take out on my way and we could have a movie night?" He suggested and Emily had to swallow the regret of having to turn his offer down.

"About that…" she started and he raised an eyebrow "Garcia kind of just invoked a girls' night at my place tonight…" She explained and he nodded, his face not really hiding his disappointment. "I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, sweetheart. You deserve a night with your friends… I'm sorry for just inviting myself without asking…" He said and she shook her head quickly.

"No, Aaron, you don't need an invitation. Anytime you're welcomed, that's why I gave you a key…" She said. She had indeed given him a key of her place a couple of weeks previously, saying that he could just come in when she invited him over and also for an occasional emergency. "I'm really sorry for this… I'd like very much to spend the night curled up watching a movie with you, but…"

"But you can't say no to Garcia _and_ you also deserve a night with your friends, Emily. It's okay, you don't have to apologize. How about I come over for lunch tomorrow? We're having the weekend off and we can start season three. It's been a while since we managed to watch an episode…" He suggested.

"Okay, I like that…" She nodded with a smile. "And I can finally cook for you my chicken parmesan with vegetables…"

"Mmm, I'll wait anxiously for that, then." He said smiling. "Go have fun, sweetheart. I think I'm going to invite Dave for a drink, it's been a while and he's been constantly bugging me about how I don't have time for him anymore." He said with a roll of his eyes, making her chuckle.

"Okay… see you tomorrow, then. Bring your bag. I think you have some sweats clean at home but I think you used the last clean suit the last time…"

"I think I did…" He nodded. He approached her and leaned down to brush his lips on her cheek briefly. "Have a good night, Em. Sweet dreams…"

She breathed in heavily his scent and her eyes fluttered closed at the touch of his lips. "Night…" She smiled at him. "Were you eating chocolate?" She asked with a curious frown.

"Uh, no. I drank a cappuccino earlier but other than that, I didn't eat anything…" He said.

"Mmm. I could swear I smelled chocolate." She said with a sniff. "Mmm, and strawberries. Strawberries covered with chocolate, mmm…" She hummed dreamingly closing her eyes briefly and he chuckled amusedly.

"Would that be the first craving of Emily Prentiss?" He asked.

"Oh, no, please." She snorted. "I don't believe in these kinds of things. That's just a way of women controlling her husbands or partners into doing anything they want…" She said shaking her head. "You don't have to worry because I will most definitely not start to asking you for crazy things, like melon with mustard or anything like that…" She said and he chuckled.

"Okay, then. See you tomorrow…" He said and she nodded, waving him goodbye before leaving his office. He grabbed his reports and headed to his meeting, already planning a stop at some bakery on his way home.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Oh, please, Clueless _no_." JJ groaned as they were choosing their movie for the night. Emily chuckled at the pout on Garcia's face but also shook her head.

"I'm sorry, PG, but I have to agree. I like the movie, but we _always_ end up watching him in our movie nights." She said.

"So what? It's a tradition!" She cried but the other two women didn't change their minds. "Fine! 13 going on 30? She suggested then and the others nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that one is better." JJ agreed and Emily nodded.

"YAY!" The tech blonde cheered and started setting the DVD.

"You two get everything ready while I go to the bathroom…" Emily said getting up. "Oh, and I'm already advising, baby Hotchner likes to play with my bladder so there'll be a lot of pauses in this movie…" She said pointing a finger at them.

"Been there, girl. Get used to it. The third semester is the worse. I seriously considered moving my office to the bathroom after my thirtieth week." JJ said and Emily groaned before walking up the stairs to her bedroom. There was a knock at the door and Garcia got up.

"It must be the food I ordered on my way here…" She said walking to the door. Looking at the peephole, she gasped looking back at JJ. "It's boss-man!" JJ raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to open the door. "Hello, boss-man!" She greeted the dark haired profiler with a toothy grin. "Raven-haired beauty is upstairs, in the bathroom…" She said gesturing him to come in.

"No, it's fine, I just came quickly to give her this. Can you give it to her, please?" He asked handing her a paper bag.

"Of course, sir." She said with a quick nod.

"I'll let you girls to have fun, then. Please, call me if anything happens…" He said with a serious tone and both women nodded at him.

"Don't worry, sir, you'll be my first call if we need it." She assured him and he gave them a quick dimple before waving his goodbye and leaving. The two women closed the door and walked back to the living room just as Emily was coming back.

"Hey, I heard the door. Our food is here?" She asked and the two blondes shook their heads.

"Nope. It was your handsome baby daddy…" Garcia said with a smile.

"Aaron? What did he want?" She asked with a frown.

"He asked us to give you this…" JJ said handing her the paper bag.

"What is it?" She wondered before opening and then gasped when she saw what was inside. "Oh."

"What is it?" Garcia asked curiously.

She pulled a box with a dozen strawberries covered with chocolate and showed it to them. "I told him I thought I had smelled strawberries with chocolate today and he teased me about cravings… I told him I didn't believe in these things and he just nodded but…" She said looking at the box.

"Is he always this… sweet?" Garcia asked and Emily nodded at her, smiling watery.

"All the time…" She answered. "He's always doing things, asking me if I need anything, cooking for me, giving me foot massages, getting along with my nerdiness…"

"Hotch cooks?" JJ asked surprised.

"Oh, you guys have no idea. He's the king of breakfasts. Pancakes, omelets, French toast, anything you want, he does the best…" She said with a smile.

"And just how often is he here to cook you breakfast?" Garcia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh…" Emily struggled before answering. "He comes over sometimes… I really don't like his apartment so I'm trying to help him to find a new one and until then I like to invite him here…" She explained.

"And how often is 'sometimes'?" The tech asked.

"Mmm… every other night when we're home?" She said hesitantly.

"How many nights he spent at his own place in the last month when we're not on a case?" JJ asked.

Emily thought for a while before answering sheepishly. "Two…"

"Does he have a toothbrush here? And a shaver kit? Shampoo?" She asked.

"Yes…"

"Clean underwear? Sweatpants? T-shirts? Suits?"

"Suits, no. He used the last one this week…" She said and sighed at the look on their faces. "It's nothing like that, guys. We like the company, we talk a lot, we have the same tastes in movies… he started to watch Friends because I said I like it… it's nice to not come home alone after a day of work, especially our work. But that's it. We eat, we watch TV, we talk and then we go to sleep…" She said with a shrug.

"And where does he sleep? At the guest room or with you?" JJ asked.

"At first he stayed at the guest room but usually we just fall asleep in my bed…" She said. "But nothing happens! We just sleep… it's nice and we're comfortable with each other…" She deflected.

"Emily…" JJ started with a sigh. "Look, I don't want to be the bad guy here. I really don't. And I also don't want to get into your life because it doesn't concerns me… but are you sure of what you're doing?" She asked and Emily frowned. "Em, you two are acting like a couple! You two do everything together, you sleep together, he calls you sweetheart, Em…" She explained. "I understand how it is to be pregnant and full of hormones and everything and how you feel more needy and it feels nice to have someone near, taking care of you, I really understand that… but you need to be sure of what you want and be aware that you could be leaning into Hotch and letting him think that something more could happen in the future, maybe… Hotch is one of the good ones, Em. He married his high school sweetheart and she left him heartbroken, we all saw that. I guess what I'm saying is, do you see yourself having something more with Hotch in the future? Because the way you both are handling things, it's all leading to that. Being friends with the father of your child is one thing. Even if you don't like his apartment and want to help him, that's good, you could even invite him permanently. Roommates are nice. But the way you two treat each other, the way you two talk, the fact that you two are comfortable sleeping in the same bed, all of that leads to a different story, Em. Are you sure you want that? Are you sure you're not just having a natural reaction due to your hormones, wanting to having someone to take care of you?"

Emily looked at her in silence for a few minutes, pondering everything she had said. "I… I don't know…" She murmured after a while. "He makes me feel… safe. It's like, when I'm with him I know that nothing bad can ever happen to me. He'll keep me safe and sound and I'm capable of everything if he's there. I'm not scared of anything when I'm around him and… that scares me…" She said and both blondes frowned. "I know it doesn't make any sense but it's true. I'm not afraid of anything if he's around and that freaks me out. I've never felt anything like that with anyone. I don't trust easily, especially men. I've never felt safe enough to let all my guards down around anyone, but with Aaron… I _know_ that he would die before he'd let anything happen to me." She said.

"So you see yourself with him in the future?" JJ asked.

Emily thought for a few moments before answering. "Honestly, I can't picture any other man in my life other than him…" She said truthfully.

"I can't see you with anyone else either. You and boss man just fit together… like PB and jelly…" Garcia said with a wink.

"I don't know, guys." Emily sighed, pitching her nose. "What I know is that Aaron's been by my side through everything and without him I would've probably gone crazy by now. For the first time in my life I have someone who takes care of me and makes me feel safe and comfortable, without having to pretend to be someone else for them to like me. And I like that. I love that I can let my guards down without regards or fears. I love the way me makes me feel worth it. I love the way he looks at me and makes me feel beautiful all the time. I love the way he calls me sweetheart and makes me feel special…" Emily said and the others just smiled at her.

"You're falling, Em…" JJ said.

Emily sighed and dropped her eyes to the floor. "For the first time in my life I have faith that I'll have someone there to catch me when I fall." She confessed.

"Can I ask you something?" Garcia asked hesitantly.

"What?" Emily asked.

"I don't want to bring bad memories, but… how _is_ he?" She asked quietly with wicked glint in her eyes and Emily chuckled, blushing.

"He's… like no one else I've ever been with…" She breathed. Both blondes just stayed in silence while she spoke, listening to her words. "We were down there, vulnerable, listening the horrible things that monster was saying and he just… he just focused on me. He made me look at him and he covered my ears to block anything else but him and the way he touched me…" She said sighing. "He made me forget everything and just feel. It could've been the most traumatic experience of my life but he didn't let it. He kept touching me and kissing me and saying that he was taking care of me, that I deserved everything that's good, I deserved to be cherished and loved…"

"Wow…" Garcia breathed.

"Yeah…" Emily nodded.

"So…" Garcia continued with a smile. "I guess boss man is just as deliciously handsome under his suits as he is with it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, the man is _fine._ " She nodded. "He's ridiculously fit and strong… honestly, the suit doesn't do his justice…"

" _And…_ " Garcia probed…

"Yes… he's very well equipped. It kind of hurt a little bit because it'd been a very long time since the last time…" Emily nodded and Garcia gasped.

"And that's why I'll never be able to look at Hotch in the eyes again." JJ said and all women chuckled just in time there was a knock at the door. They dropped the subject and continued their night with movies and talks about other things. It was over eleven when the girls left and Emily started to get ready for bed. She ate the last two strawberries before taking her shower and after she got into bed she grabbed her phone and typed Hotch a quick text.

 _Thank you for the strawberries. You really didn't have to._

Less than two minutes later came the reply.

 _I know that. But I wanted to. You deserve to be spoiled, sweetheart._

She smiled watery at the words and remembered the talk with her friends earlier.

 _Want to make that lunch a breakfast?_

She felt stupid for missing him but she did. She missed him terribly and the way her bed now smelled like him didn't help her.

 _I'll be there at ten. Okay?_

 _More than okay. Good night, Aaron._

 _Good night, sweetheart. Sweet dreams._

As she shut off her night lamp and closed her eyes she knew for sure that JJ was right. She was falling. Hard and fast. And for the first time in her life she wasn't scared of that.

 **A/N: I was really missing some girl moment in this fic. Especially because JJ just experienced the joy of being pregnant and I think she could give Emily some good advices about how things work. I'll definitely explore that relationship later. Anyway, I also thought that Emily should talk to somebody about what happened between her and Hotch and no one better than her best friends for that. I think that JJ and Garcia would be the perfect people for her to talk because they see how things are happening every day and they both actually know Hotch and Emily so they could give the perfect third opinion on the matter. Also, I guessed it was more than the time for Emily to start acknowledging things between her and Hotch because they are getting closer each day and ignoring that isn't nice. I particularly love the sweet Hotch and he will be explored further in this.**

 **Next chapter will contain spoilers from 4x23 and will have Strauss trip with the team and the definition of our agents situation with the FBI. Also, I'll start to introduce the Ambassador in this and I'd like to say beforehand that I'll have a special spot for her in this work. Anna and Jack will be present in the next chapters too.**

 **Reviews are so much appreciated and I'd love to know what you think. Are you guys still enjoying this? Please, let me know.**


	16. Let me Lean on You

**A/N: Hello! Here I am, as promised, with a new chapter. I'd like to thank you all for your reviews in the last chapter, I'm having a few problems, my cellphone broke and my computer is giving me trouble so I couldn't answer them, but just know that they're really appreciated and made me incredibly happy. Thank you.**

 **I have an announcement to make. On December 26th, I'm making a whole year here in FF and to celebrate that, I decided to spend the whole month giving you guys gifts :) Look how it will work. You guys can send me PM's or reviews saying what would you like me to write about, plots that would turn into one, two or threeshots. Anything at all, any pairings, anything. All ratings, all categories, feel free. I'm going to choose those who will give me concrete ideas for stories and then I'm planning on posting one every week, at first. I can improve that number later. So, I'm already receiving suggestions, feel free to leave yours. I'm doing this as a thank you for every review, every PM, every single thing you guys did to support me through this whole year I'm here. As I like to say, you guys are the best readers in the world and I love you all. Send me your wishes and I'll do my best to make them reality! :)**

Chapter 16: Let me lean on you.

Hotch was getting ready for the briefing when there was a knock on his door. JJ had presented him a call from Bend, Oregon, where two victims had been killed in the same conditions in the last two weeks, all of them hit by a car, possibly a truck. The lead detective had requested their presence immediately after the second case, so he was planning on presenting the case and taking off in the next hour. "Come in…" He called and groaned inwardly at the sight of his section chief coming through the door.

"Agent Hotchner."

"Ma'am." He greeted her politely. "I was just about to leave for the briefing. What can I do for you?" He asked, giving her a slight hint that his time was short.

"It's exactly about that. I heard that Agent Jareau presented you a new case and you plan on leaving soon, so I just want to let you know that I'm going to join your team on this case." She said and he fought the urge of closing his eyes and sighing, just nodding at her curtly.

"As your wish, ma'am. The briefing will start in a minute, if you want to join us, please, go ahead…" He said while gesturing to the conference room and she nodded. As they entered the room, the whole team was already gathered around the table, going through the files. "Good morning, everyone. Before we start it, Chief Strauss will be joining us on this case…" He announced, making eye contact with Emily and nodding slightly at her, getting a similar nod back. "JJ, you can proceed."

"Thank you, sir. Two women were killed in the last two weeks in Bend, Oregon, both of them hit by a car. The first victim was running and the other was having car troubles, both of them in the same road." JJ started.

"What made the police think the two cases are connected?" Morgan asked.

"First of all, both women were hit again after the first time." She answered.

"It wasn't an accident." Rossi stated.

"No, and second of all, the same marks were found in both occasions, probably from the same truck." JJ continued.

"A guy who uses his car as a weapon. That's a first…" Emily said and JJ nodded.

"The car has to have marks or damage, I mean, look at the bodies, the impact was too strong to leave any car intact, even a big one, like an SUV or a big truck…" Reid said looking at the pictures. "It shouldn't be too hard to find it, or at least it has to have been on a workshop to repair it…"

"Something tells me it won't be so easy…" Rossi said.

"We'll see more in the crime scenes, hopefully. Let's get ready. Wheels up in twenty." Hotch said and the team, plus Strauss, got up to get their things ready. As soon as the section chief was out of sight, Hotch turned his attention to his team, who was going to the bullpen. "We all know that she's looking for a reason to split us. Let's not give it to her…" He said quietly and the others nodded. It would be a long case and they knew they'd have to be extra careful with her watching every move they made.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Morgan and Prentiss got a name from the rehabilitation facility. Ian Cockle. The doctor said he stayed paraplegic after a car accident in September of 2007. He was driving back from home on the Road 7 with his wife, Sheila. She died instantly, he was in a coma for a few weeks and had memory lost when he woke up. He's also an ex-mechanic in the National Guard." Reid said as he walked into the conference room of the station, where Rossi, Strauss and Hotch were.

Hotch was already dialing Garcia's number when he finished. "Garcia, we need an address. Ian Cockle. He was involved in a car accident with his wife, Sheila, and she died at the local." Hotch said as soon as Garcia answered. After a few minutes they had the unsub's address and were getting ready to leave.

"Ma'am, stay here with Agent Jareau." Hotch directed Strauss, who just nodded at him. He was incredibly surprised at her lack of interferences in this case, having expected her to put her finger on anything she could. In fact, she had stayed completely out of the discussions, acting as a mere observer of their work. He had a hunch that it had been some direct orientation from the Director himself, already knowing her history with the BAU team. Anyway he was thankful for that and hoped that it stayed that way.

"I'm going to call Morgan and ask him to meet us there after dropping Prentiss back here." Rossi said and for the first time Strauss spoke.

"Isn't Agent Prentiss joining you guys too?" She asked and Rossi shook his head.

"No. Prentiss can still do light field work, like interviews and visiting crime scenes or dumpsites, but we're going straight to the unsub. It's too dangerous for her conditions…" Dave said and Hotch sent him a thankful look to both his posture with Strauss and his decision about Emily.

"Let's go." He said to cut the chat and left the room, along with Reid, Rossi and the lead detective.

"It's just me, or do you guys think that Strauss is being too nice and quiet in this case?" Reid said and both agents nodded.

"John called me a bit before we got into the plane." Dave said and Hotch raised an eyebrow.

"The Director?"

"Yes. I've been sending him reports about your posture with Emily after every case we finish and he's keeping me updated. He asked me to keep it quiet, specially to you. I would tell you about her coming on this case but he called me right on time she got into your office." He explained. "John doesn't appreciate Strauss special interest in this team and he doesn't think she can do an objective evaluation, so he asked me to give mine to compare with hers… he asked me to keep an eye on her through this case to see if she would interfere too much on it. And I guess he had a talk with her before sending her here."

"Amen to that." Hotch said.

"Yeah. She's behaving, so let's do our part and finish this investigation…" Dave said and Hotch nodded while starting the SUV.

\\*\\*\\*\

"No news on them yet, JJ?" Emily asked anxiously as she paced the conference room. It had been almost two hours since the team got out to the unsub's address and, except for two calls from Morgan, one to say that the unsub wasn't there and the other to say that the probable victim had left for a bike training and they were after him because the unsub was probably there too, they hadn't heard a word of their teammates about how things were being handled.

"Not yet, Em. Morgan said they were chasing the unsub in the route of training." JJ said. Emily forced herself to put her emotions in check and to not show anything to Strauss, who was watching her like a hawk.

She continued to pace a few minutes until JJ's phone rang and the blonde answered, putting it on speaker. "Morgan, what happened?"

"The guy killed himself. Threw his car over the precipice." He said with a sigh and the women closed their eyes briefly. "We're just wrapping the scene and as soon as Hotch and the detective are release by the EMTs we'll be on our way…" He finished and Emily stopped breathing.

"I'm sorry? EMTs?" She questioned and JJ looked at her meaningfully for her to dose her tone.

"Yeah. The guy was going to hit the victim but Hotch stopped him. He threw his SUV into the guy's truck, forcing him to stop." Morgan explained and Emily closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Okay, Morgan. We'll start wrapping everything here and see you guys when you get back…" JJ said, tacitly cutting the talking, noticing how affected Emily was at the news. She hung up the phone and looked at her friend who was struggling to keep her façade.

"I'm going to use the restroom for a minute and then we'll start the reports, okay?" She said tightly and JJ nodded at her briefly, wincing inwardly and really wishing to not be on Hotch's shoes at the moment.

"Is she okay?" Strauss asked and JJ looked at the woman with regard.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She just needs a minute…" She said with a tight smile and the older woman nodded.

At the bathroom, Emily looked at her own reflection tried to control her breathing while keeping the tears at bay. Morgan's words still echoed in her ears and she still couldn't believe that Hotch had thrown his car right in front of an unsub, on purpose. The rational part of her, the Agent Prentiss, chastised her for making such big deal of deal, because she knew he wouldn't do anything without measuring the risks and thinking in all the available options, not to mention that the danger was a natural thing with their job, at any minute any of them could get shot or injured.

But the other part of her, the Emily, the pregnant woman, she was just pissed as hell and terrified of losing the father of her baby, the man she started to lean on, the only man she allowed to get through all her barriers and set residence inside her heart, without regards or being afraid of anything. Her eyes stung and she blinked repeatedly, trying to control her emotions. The only thing going on in her head was that she could've lost him, she could've lost him and then she would be alone, alone to raise their child and to fight each day with this job, getting through all the problems and obstacles and trying to not freak out on the way, and that made her so incredibly angry with him, so pissed at him for not thinking of them, not thinking of her.

She had no idea how long she was in the bathroom but she knew it had been way much longer than the minute she asked JJ, so she wiped the tears that managed to escape and put herself together to face the others, burying her feelings deep inside to deal with them later. And she would deal with them later, definitely not alone.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Emily, can you please calm down." JJ tried to reason with the brunette who was furiously throwing her things inside her go bag later that evening.

The team had finished processing things at the station and was back at the hotel, having an hour to get ready and their things packed to board on the jet. The guys didn't take long to get back at the station and when JJ saw the bruises on her boss, she knew he was screwed. Emily had vehemently avoided any direct contact with him, in a very professional way, so anyone but the team would be able to notice the difference in the treatment.

The minute they got back into their room, though, the brunette had lost any trace of composure and promptly started to pack her things, fisting her clothes inside her bag and muttering curses. JJ could understand how she was feeling, having already experienced the pregnancy hormones once. She remembered all the times she got furious with Will over the most silly things, like the times he forgot to buy the milk she wanted or when he called 'too much' while she was working. And definitely, throwing yourself in front of an unsub should be on the not-to-do list of any men with a pregnant woman, so she could really understand where here friend was coming from.

However, she couldn't ignore the small detail of Strauss presence with the team, and she knew that a scandal was everything she wanted to use against them. "Emily…" She tried again as the woman zipped her bag and checked her gun and badge. When she started to walk towards the door, JJ promptly put herself in the way. "Em, wait."

"JJ, get out of my way." Emily gritted through her teeth and JJ sighed.

"Emily, believe, I know how angry you are. If I were in your place I'd probably be just as pissed as you, but you need to stop for a minute and think. Strauss is here. If she hears any discussion between you and Hotch, specially about something that happened on the field, she'll get everything she wants to use against you. Breathe and think clearly, Em. You need to calm down…" The blonde said patiently.

"I need to talk to him, JJ."

"You need to wait until you're both at home." JJ argued.

"Strauss is two floors up, JJ. I need to talk to him, now…" Emily said tightly. "I can't handle the whole flight home, JJ. I'll flip. I need to speak with him…"

"Emily…" JJ sighed but the brunette brushed her off and pushed her aside to open the door.

"Don't worry, I'll kill him quietly…" She murmured before leaving, barely hearing the blonde's snort. She walked straight to the unit chief's room and knocked firmly three times. Dave opened the door and winced at the look on her face, stepping aside as Emily barged her way in. Hotch looked at her, startled and frowned when she glared at him. "Dave, can you leave us alone for a few minutes, please?" She asked tightly and the elder nodded knowingly, leaving the room.

"Sweetheart…" Hotch started but Emily pointed her finger to him, shutting him up.

" _Don't_ sweetheart me." She hissed. "What the hell were you thinking, Aaron? Throwing yourself in front of an unsub? Were you out of your bloody mind?" She asked, her tone quiet and dangerous, sending shivers through his spine.

"Emily…" Hotch sighed but Emily just shook her head, blinking the tears pooling in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea how I felt when Morgan told us you were being checked by the EMTs? Look at the bruises on your face, Aaron! You purposely caused a car accident where you could've been seriously injured!" She argued and stepped back when he tried to approach her. "Don't. You only thought about yourself and your need to catch the bad guys… what about me, Aaron? What about us?" She said gesturing to her belly. "You didn't think about how I would react if you got injured, if you got yourself killed! Was I supposed to raise this baby alone? How do you think I would cope? You only thought of yourself and forgot how much I need you here, with me, to do this together!" She accused him and this time the tears started to fall. "How'd you expect me to explain to our child why her father isn't around? Oh, I'm sorry, baby, your father decided to play bumper car with an unsub and didn't get back home!" She cried and he sighed.

"Emily, I couldn't let him hit that man and don't do anything! I thought that my SUV would get the impact way much better than his damn bicycle… I'm sorry for scaring you, but I did what I had to do. You know that, you're just not thinking clearly…" He argued and tried to approach her again. She tried to push him away but he pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her tightly and kissing her hair. "Sweetheart, you have to know that I'd never put myself in danger without being absolutely necessary. I'd never do this to you, or our baby and Jack. I know I have people who depend on me, who need me, but I can't just switch off my conscience anytime I see something I know I can stop from happening because I'm afraid of getting hurt." He reasoned. He held her as she cried and tried to shush her, whispering assurances in her ear. After a few minutes he pulled back and cupped her cheeks, leaning his forehead on hers and looking her straight in the eyes. "You have to know that I'll fight, tooth and nail to stay here, by your side, through everything and against anyone, for as long as God allows me because there's no place I rather be…"

Emily breathed heavily, the tears still falling from her cheeks. "I'm scared, Aaron. I never needed anyone. I never depended on anyone. But I need you. I need you so much that just imagining that you'll not be here with me makes me paralyze…" She whispered. "You can't leave me… I need you, Aaron, you can't ju-" He stopped her with a brush of his lips, effectively shutting her up.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him after he pulled back and he didn't hesitated before saying "I need you too."

\\*\\*\\*\

Strauss watched the scene unfolding in front of her with fuming eyes. The team had boarded on the jet a few minutes earlier and Emily walked straight to the end of the plane, sitting in one of the double chairs. Everyone could see the redness of her eyes and nose, showing how she had broken down after the team got back from the station. A few moments later Hotch had followed her and sat beside her, throwing a blanket over both their laps and gathering her into his arms, ignoring everyone else.

She felt someone sitting on the chair beside her and looked to the side to find Dave staring at her pointedly. "Don't even think about, Erin." He said quietly.

"They're being unprofessional, David." She spat and he rolled his eyes.

"They're trying to reassure themselves that everything is okay. Aaron got hurt, Emily got scared. It's normal if they want to be close to be sure that they're both okay." He explained. "You saw the way they handled the case. You saw the way Emily held herself together after the accident. They waited until the case was wrapped and all their obligations were done to address to their problems. We're going back home, they're not being unprofessional, Erin. They're being human."

Strauss huffed at him and continued to stare the couple. "I know that the Director spoke to you…"

"He did." Dave nodded. "He didn't want you to overstep your boundaries. He knows how much you despise Aaron and his team, even though you have no reason to do so. When will you understand that Aaron doesn't have any ambitions of taking your job, or being on your way from a promotion? He loves the BAU, Erin, he lost his marriage because of this job. He doesn't want to leave the field, to leave his place. If you just understood that you'd stop being so insecure and let him do his job." He finished.

Strauss was silent for a moment before she sighed and looked at him. "You're right. They didn't do anything inappropriate during the case and even with the situation they held themselves together until the end… there's no reason to split this team…" She murmured.

"Good. I'm glad understood that. Now please, let us do our job and stop trying to sabotage us." He said and she just looked away, staring the window. Dave sighed and got up, passing through Hotch and giving him a slight nod before sitting at the single chair on the other side. He sincerely hoped that things would get a bit better now.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Prentiss." Emily answered the phone automatically as she typed her report in her computer. The team was having a couple of days off after coming back from Oregon and she was managing to go through all her consults that were piled on her desk.

"Emily?" A sweet voice greeted her and she took a couple of seconds to recognize it.

"Anna?"

"It's me, sweetheart. I'm sorry for bothering you while you're working but Aaron commented that your team is having some light days and I wanted to know if you'd like to join me for lunch today…" She asked and Emily smiled slightly.

"Oh." She said looking at her watch and seeing it was just after ten-thirty. "I guess that's okay. Do you have a place in mind?" She asked.

"There's a nice restaurant a few blocks for the Bureau. Aaron and I ate there a few times… it'd be closer for you to come back to work later…" She said and Emily quickly agreed.

"I know the place. I'll meet you there at noon, then?"

"That'd be perfect, sweetheart. Thank you for agreeing…" She said and Emily nodded.

"Of course... see you later." She said hanging up. She got up and walked towards Hotch's office and knocked on the door lightly, walking inside and closing it after he called her in. "Hey. Did you give my number to your mother?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah. She asked for it a few weeks ago. I forgot to tell you. Why? Did she call?" He asked.

"Yeah, she invited me for lunch. Any ideas about what she wants to talk to me?" She questioned and he shrugged, shaking his head.

"No idea, she probably just wants to get to know you better…" He offered and she nodded.

"I told her I'll meet her at noon at Marcie's. I'm just finishing a consult and then I'm leaving…"

"It's okay. I don't think we're going to be called today so be free to enjoy your lunch for a little while. Give her a kiss for me, will you?" He asked and she smiled at him, nodding. They had both opted to not mention the barely kiss in Oregon, but both of them could feel the way they were leaning towards each other every single day.

Hotch was practically living at Emily's place by now, great part of his wardrobe had made its way into Emily's closet, the living room bookshelves were now filled with his books and the master bathroom had his shaver kit, shampoos, deodorants and other things. The right nightstand had his reading glasses and a couple of his books while the left one had Emily's favorite books and her alarm clock. Even in the kitchen the changes could be observed. In the fridge were Hotch's favorite juice and a few pineapples, even though Emily hated them. The cupboards were full with ingredients for his pancakes, which he made sure to do every day for Emily to eat properly.

It seemed to be a mutual agreement to just enjoy and not to mention anything, the fear of acknowledging the changes and making something go wrong was too much. They were both comfortable with each other, comfortable with their arrangement, with their routine and their lives together, and even knowing that things could get better, could evolve if they just talked about it, the agreement was to just let things happen naturally.

"Okay… you, please eat something too. Don't drown yourself into these files and forget to take care of you…" She asked and he smiled.

"I will order something, sweetheart." She smiled at him and nodded before leaving the office, going back to her desk to finish her files.

At noon, Emily walked into the restaurant and quickly spotted Anna sitting at a table near one of the windows, smiling at her. She walked towards the elder woman, who rose up from her chair to greet her. "Hello, sweetie…" She said while taking Emily into a hug.

"Hi, Anna…"

"Thank you again for coming… I know it wasn't a usual request, but I understand how your job is busy and was just waiting for an opportunity to invite you…" Anna said as they sat at their table. The waiter came and took their orders, leaving both women alone again. "So, tell me. How are you doing? How's my little grandbaby?" She asked with a warm smile.

"We're both fine, thank God. I don't feel any sickness anymore, though the tiredness hit me with full force." Emily said with a wince. "Somedays I can barely make into 9 before falling asleep…"

"I can imagine, especially with this job of yours… it can be easy with all the travelling…" She commented and Emily nodded.

"Yeah, the hours are crazy and the trips just make me even more tired. But Aaron always makes sure to send me back to the hotel before I reach my limit…" She said and Anna smiled.

"Oh, I can only imagine. Aaron was always overprotective. With everything that we went through, he developed this need to protect everyone all the time at all costs. It's both a blessing and a curse…" Anna said and Emily agreed with a nod.

"It is, indeed." Emily said and proceeded to talk with Anna about the case in Oregon. The elder shook her head at the actions of her son, saying that she wouldn't expect anything less of him. The waiter came back with their orders and they started to eat before continuing their talk.

"And you guys started to see anything of the nursery?" She asked excitedly and Emily chuckled a little, shaking her head.

"Not really. The last few weeks were really intense and we barely made into my thirteenth week appointment, let alone think about nursery…" She said. "Also… I thought a lot about what we talked that day at your house, about how I've always wanted a house of my own, space to play without worrying of breaking something… I want that for my baby too. Maybe I could find a small house, with a backyard and space to raise a child… I don't think apartments are the better places to take care of a baby, with the elevators and lack of privacy in some ways…" She explained and Anna nodded at her.

"I understand, sweetie and I agree with you... you should definitely look for something like that… I'd advise you to start it soon… you're fourteen weeks now, it won't take too long for you to finish your second semester and you'll see that things get too difficult when your belly looks like the size of a melon…" She said and Emily chuckled. "Aaron also told me that you're trying to get him out of that poor excuse of apartment he lives… thank you so much for that, baby. I absolutely hate that place, it's too ugly and dangerous, especially for an FBI agent."

"Oh, I hate that place too. I honestly can't understand why Aaron moved into that in the first place…" She huffed.

"It was because he wanted to get out of the house quickly. Tiffany was bugging him to find his own place so she could come back with Jack and he didn't want to fight. I offered him my guest room but you know Aaron, he can be pretty much pigheaded when he wants too." Anna said and Emily nodded chuckling. They continued their lunch, talking about the names Emily and Hotch started to think for their baby and their decision of not finding the gender until the birth, along with other things. It was over one-thirty when the waiter came with the bill and the women left the restaurant. "Thank you again for coming, sweetheart…" Anna smiled as she hugged Emily in front of the restaurant.

"Thank _you_ for inviting me, Anna. I had a really good time and we should definitely do this again sometime… maybe get Aaron out of the office for a couple of hours…" She said and Anna smiled.

"Oh, that'd be perfect, darling. Have a good day a work, okay?" She said pressing a kiss on Emily's cheek. They waved their goodbyes and walked into their cars, neither woman noticing the pair of eyes watching them from across the street.

"Who's the woman with your mother in law?" The red-haired woman asked at the blonde.

"Emily Prentiss. She works with Aaron… apparently they're sleeping together…" Haley told her friend who raised an eyebrow.

"And she's already having lunches with his mother? It doesn't seem just an affair to me…" She said and Haley huffed, rolling her eyes at the brunette agent who was getting into her car.

"Let's go…" She said tightly and continued her walk to the bakery shop with her friend. She really didn't like the way things were going, with that woman taking place inside Aaron's life like that. With the baby, she would be what Haley was in the past, and with Anna's support she didn't doubt at least that she would marry Hotch someday. And she sure didn't like that. She didn't like that at all.

 **A/N: Okay, so many things happened here, I don't know what to address first! Okay, first of all, we had a kiss! It may have been a poor excuse of a kiss but it WAS a kiss, nevertheless. We're getting closer to get them together and that's just awesome. Second of all, Strauss backed down. I didn't want to do anything drastic, like transfering her or firing her. We know that her problem always was insecurity and in the end, Dave turned her into a better person and she left the show as one of the good ones. I thought I'd bring some of that here. Also, I wanted to start exploring Anna and Emily's relationship because I'm addicted to that and if you don't like it, I'm really sorry, lol. They're too much alike, both strong women with a difficult past, who know just what they want and are not afraid of fighting for it. We will keep exploring this further. And finally, we have an angry ex-wife! I advised that Haley'd be a bitch here, and she will be a bitch. We'll see more of that in the next chapters.**

 **I hope you guys had like this, and I'm sorry for any errors. Reviews are appreciated and don't forget to send your ideas of what you want me to write for you. Waiting anxiously already! :)**


	17. Three Little Words

**A/N: I'm back!**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who sent their prompts for our December gifts. You guys are incredibly creative and I'm already working on something. For those who hadn't sent yet or don't know about it, I'm receiving prompts of one, two and threshoots, things you guys'd like me to write, and in December, when I'm making one year on FF, I'll be posting it as a gift to all my readers. Feel free to PM or review.**

 **Anyway, here is the new chapter and we'll have Emily's birthday! The Ambassador will make a special participation here too, so be prepared to emotions. Oh, and of course, sweet Hotch is here with full force because I love him!**

 **I'm sorry for any errors and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

Chapter 17: Three Little Words.

Hotch hung up the phone with a sigh. He had just got a call from the prosecutor that was handling a case the BAU helped to solve a little over a year ago. They had been called by the Fort Myers PD about a series of murders of women in their late twenties, all blondes, physically fit and single. They had five victims before they could work on a solid profile, which led to Jonathan Davis' name, a single man in his early thirties, unemployed, with several charges for indecency, drunk driving and stalking of an ex-girlfriend on college.

Hotch had been the one who found him as he was beating his sixth victim. Thankfully, the woman was taken to the hospital and got nothing but a few bruised ribs, a black eye and a split lip. Hotch had been the one who did the interrogation too, and managed to get a full confession from the unsub. His defense claimed mental instability and that held the judgment for a little bit, while the unsub was sent to an institution.

The trial had finally been scheduled to this week and the prosecution was trying to prove that Davis wasn't instable as the defense claimed, and should be judged as a regular defendant. That was why the prosecutor called Hotch, asking him to testify as a behavior analyst and one of those who worked at the case and had direct contact with the suspect, within the interrogation.

Hotch knew that it was a valid request and that his testimony could be decisive in the end but he couldn't help but curse his luck at the moment the call came. He looked at his calendar and confirmed the date, not that he needed it, groaning inwardly. It was October 11th, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to flight to Florida, rerun the case with the prosecutor, testify at the trial, and get back in the same day.

He would miss Emily's birthday.

Or at least part of it, because he'd be damned if he wouldn't get back home until tomorrow's night to at least take her to dinner.

But the problem was that he _had_ planned the whole day already, wanting to make it special to her. He recalled their talk a couple of days ago, when he brought up her thirty-eight birthday and the way she brushed it off, saying that it didn't matter and she didn't use to celebrate it anyway. He winced at the look on her face when she told him she couldn't remember ever having a truly good birthday and with time she just started to ignore the date completely, not caring about trying to do anything.

He had then called and made reservations at her favorite Italian restaurant, ordered flowers to be delivered really early at her apartment, where he'd be making her favorite pancakes to wake her with breakfast in bed and a bouquet of her favorite white lilies. He'd even bought a beautiful white gold necklace, with a heart pendant with a little ruby embedded on it, and he planned on giving it to her after their dinner.

But now, he'd be lucky if he managed to get back in time to have dinner with her, at least some take-out with grape juice.

Time for plan B.

He sighed again and grabbed the phone again, calling the floriculture to reschedule the delivery for a little later, and also calling Emily's favorite bakery to order her a breakfast basket, filled with her favorite pastries, pancakes and some strawberries covered with chocolate. He wouldn't be around but he'd make sure that she had a reason to smile in the morning and a good start for her day.

He decided to not call the restaurant to cancel the reservation yet, secretly hoping to make it back on time to take her out. He wanted that, he needed to give her that special day, that good memory for the first time, because she deserved it. She deserved everything good and he hated that she hadn't had many good things in her life to be happy about.

The knock on his door startled him and he called the person to come in, smiling when he saw Emily's head popping inside. "Hi. You busy?" She asked and he shook his head, gesturing her to come in and getting up from his chair to meet hear in the middle of his office. "I was wondering if you'd like to grab some lunch with me…" She asked. "I really don't want to order in and your kid is starving…"

"Oh, now it's my kid, uh?" He chuckled at her and she nodded with a smile. "I'd love to, sweetheart, but I can't. In fact, I was going to call you here in a minute, I just got a phone call from a prosecutor who's working on Jonathan Davis case and the trial starts today. She wants me to testify as a behavior analyst and someone who worked on the case, to try to prove that he's not mental instable like the defense is saying…" He explained and she nodded slowly.

"Oh. Okay…" She said quietly. "You have to go to Florida, then?" She asked.

"Yes. As soon as I book a flight and pack a bag. I'll probably be back tomorrow evening…" He said and she just nodded at him. He could see that she was trying to not show her sadness but he knew her too well right now, he could see it by the way she adverted her eyes and bit her lip. He sighed and closed the few steps between them, thanking God for his closed blinds, and cupped her cheek. "I'm really sorry for not being here tomorrow, sweetheart…" He said quietly and just like he expected her to do, she waved him off, plastering a smile on her face and shaking her head.

"Don't worry about that, Aaron. I told you, it's not that important to me…" She said and he circled her waist with one arm as his hand caressed her cheek.

"But it is to me. I'm really sorry for not being here, but I'll try to get back early so we can celebrate…" He promised and she just smiled at him.

"I understand, Aaron. Don't worry. Now, you need to arrange your trip, so I'll leave you alone." She said patting his chest. "Please, be safe, okay?" She whispered and he smiled fondly.

"Of course, sweetheart. You too, be safe here. I promise you, I'll call you when I can…" He said and she nodded, leaning up to press a kiss on his cheek. Hotch closed his eyes at the touch of her lips and tightened his grip on her waist, no wanting to let go.

"I'm going to ask JJ to come for lunch with me…" She murmured against his neck and he nodded. "Have a safe flight…"

"Will do. See you tomorrow, sweetheart." He whispered in her ear and smiled when she shivered against him. It took a handful seconds for them to pull away and after another kiss, this time on his jaw, she waved at him and left the office. He sighed sadly as he pulled his files into his briefcase and left his office to go speak with Dave.

Sometimes his job really sucked.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Prentiss." Emily answered her phone quickly as she shoved some clothes at her washing machine later that night. She smiled fondly as she saw a few boxers mixed with her underwear and sighed happily thinking about how much things had changed in the last few months in her life. She was finally realizing her dream of being a mother and had the chance to get to know a whole new side of a man she already admired before, and now had started to care for deeply, like she had never cared for anyone in her life. By all means, life was good for her right now and she was so glad for that.

"Emily? It's me, your mother…" Oh boy. For that Emily didn't expect.

"Mother?" She said surprised. "Wow, I wasn't expecting to hear from you…"

"Yeah, I know…" Her mother said quietly and there was something in her voice that made Emily stop and frown.

"Is everything okay, mom?" She asked warily and heard the ambassador sigh before answering her.

"Yes, everything's okay, it's just… I just got back from England and I was thinking… would you like to maybe have dinner with me tomorrow? It's been so long since we've last spent your birthday together…" Elizabeth said and usually Emily would just make up some excuse to say that she wasn't available but again, there was something on her mother's voice that she just found odd and it bugged her.

"I'm actually free… we're on stand down and I won't be called on a case unless is urgent, so I think it's okay…" She said and felt her eyes watering at the pleased sound of her mother's voice when she spoke again.

"Oh, really? That's great, Emily… then I'll see you here at six-thirty?" She suggested and Emily agreed.

"That's fine by me. Are you sure everything's okay, mom?" She asked again.

"Everything's fine, Emily. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?" Elizabeth said.

"Okay, mom. See you." Emily said quietly and then the line went dead. She looked at her phone for a few moments before shrugging off and finishing with her laundry, walking back to the kitchen to warm up some Thai food she had left on her fridge. As she sat on her couch to start eating her phone beeped and she smiled as she read the content of the text.

 _Still up? Just got back to the hotel. Had dinner with the prosecutor as we run by some things for the trial tomorrow. She said I'm going to testify in the afternoon, so I'll probably be home at night. How's the little one? Have you eaten? Miss you._

She quickly typed an answer.

 _I'm up. Just heated some Thai and now I'm curled on the couch watching TV. Little one's fine. Miss you too. Call me?_

It didn't take a whole minute until her phone rang. "Hi." She said quietly with a smile and sighed happily at the sound of his voice.

"Hi, sweetheart." He said softly as he lay on his hotel bed, closing his eyes. "How are you?"

"Lonely." She sighed. "I haven't noticed how big my apartment was… I blame you." She said and he chuckled softly at her.

"I'm sorry for that… if it makes you feel better, I'm feeling rather lonely myself here…" He said and she chuckled with him. "Anything interesting after I left the office?"

"Not really. Just the usual, Morgan teasing Reid, JJ defending him, Rossi pretending to not see anything and Garcia smacking Morgan for messing with her genius boy…" She said and he smiled. "I did get an unexpected phone call earlier, though." She added and he frowned.

"Really? Who was it?"

"My mother." Emily said.

"Really? How long since you two last talked?" He asked and she thought for a second before answering.

"I think it was when she called saying that she was going to attend a few meetings in England about a possible assignment, a couple of weeks after we found out about our baby." She said.

"Mmm. And what did she want?"

"To invite me for lunch tomorrow night." She said and he blinked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Normally I would make up some excuse but there was something off in her voice. I don't know what it was… she seemed almost… nervous, I think. Mother is never nervous about anything, let alone to speak with me." She said and he hummed at her. "Firstly, I found odd that she called me directly. Usually she has an assistant to call and just grabs the phone when I'm on the line. And her tone… was off, soft. Different from the cold and distant tone she always uses… I don't know, she said that everything was okay but I could just feel that something was different with her…"

"I understand…" Hotch said with a nod. "You did good, sweetheart. Who knows, maybe it'd be good for you, to get closer to her…" He said somewhat warily, knowing it was a difficult topic for her. "Why don't you tell her about the pregnancy? She should know, Emily. It's her grandchild. Her first grandchild." He said and Emily thought for a few moments before sighing heavily.

"I don't know, Aaron. I don't know what she'll say about it…" She said quietly.

"Emily, you're turning thirty-eight years old tomorrow. You're an FBI agent, you're independent. I know it's hard for you because you never really had her support through anything, but you don't really need her for anything, either. If she doesn't support you, so what? You're not alone. You didn't get knocked up by a random guy. You're not going to be a single mother… I'm there, right at your side, through everything and you know that I'm going to stay." He said and she nodded, blinking back a few tears.

"Then why do I have to tell her?" She asked.

"Because you have to at least give her a chance. Even if you don't think she deserves it. It's a big thing on your life, sweetheart. You're having a child, it has her blood, she needs to know it. And it's better if she finds out from you than from someone else who sees you out there with a big baby bump." He reasoned and she sighed.

"You're right, I know you're right." She said rubbing her face. "Okay, I'm going to tell her tomorrow…"

"And no matter what she says, sweetheart, you're most definitely not alone." He said and she smiled.

"I know that…"

"Now, it's late. Finish your dinner and go straight to bed. Baby needs its sleep…" He said.

"Baby needs its cuddles, but daddy is away." She said quietly and he sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"It's okay, Aaron. I understand, I'm just joking…" She smiled. "And, when you get back I know you're going to make it up to me…"

"I will… you can count on that." He vowed softly. "Good night, sweetheart. Sleep well…"

"You too, Aaron. See you tomorrow…"

"See you…" The line went dead again and this time it was sadness and longing that Emily felt as she stared at the phone. She felt like a pathetic lovesick teenager but she just couldn't help but miss him. She missed him deeply and didn't like that at all.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Just a second!" Emily called from the kitchen as she heard the knock on her door. It was a little after seven and she was about to start making some French toast to eat before leaving to work. She frowned as she approached her door, wondering who could it be at this time, and gasped as she looked at the peephole.

She opened the door and smiled watery at the huge bouquet of white lilies that the delivery boy was holding. "Emily Prentiss?" He asked and she nodded, having lost her voice sometime after she opened the door. "These are for you… have a good morning, Miss." The boy said with a smile and Emily quickly gave him a few bucks before closing the door, bringing the flowers to her nose and breathing in deeply.

She saw the card hanging inside the bouquet and placed the arrangement at her coffee table before opening it.

 _Happy birthday, sweetheart. I wish I was there to give these to you, but I'm thinking of you, because you are always in my mind and heart._

 _A._

She felt a tear rolling down her cheek and wiped it away quickly, staring at the piece of paper in front of her. She smiled softly at the words and looked back at the flowers, sighing happily at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. As she was grabbing her phone out of her pocket to text him there was another knock on her door and she frowned, walking to the door quickly and looking at the peephole. "Oh."

She gasped again and opened the door to see another delivery guy, this time with a breakfast basket filled with all her favorite things. She paid the boy automatically and got back inside, walking towards the kitchen to put the basket on the counter. She dug into the content and saw her favorite pastries, blueberry pancakes, a few English muffins with orange butter and half dozen of strawberries covered with chocolate.

The tears were running down freely by now and she trembled as she typed a text for him, not knowing if he was busy or sleeping to call.

 _I don't even know what to say, just… - thank you._

She was finishing her pancakes when her phone beeped.

 _You deserve everything. Happy birthday, my sweetheart._

The possessive pronoun made her insides flutter and she grinned widely at her phone.

 _I wish you were here._

 _I wish I was there too._

 _Thank you, really._

 _Anything for you._

Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was happy. She was so deeply happy that it scared her. But for the first time it wasn't the scary fear. It was that excitement right at the bottom of her stomach, the butterflies making her feel funny all the time, and mostly the hope that things would work okay this time.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Miss Emily, it's good to see you again…" The housekeeper, Berta, said with a smile as she opened the door for Emily later that evening.

Emily had had a very good day at the office, by all means. They had only worked on a consult for the New York PD and, since Strauss was out of the office, the day had gone really lightly and filled with small gifts from her teammates. They eat lunch together at the Conference Room and had desert with birthday cupcakes from Garcia. Emily got a pair of pregnancy pants from JJ, an old edition of Mother Night from Morgan, a pair of flip-flops from Garcia, from Rossi a pair of gold earrings, which she vehemently refused until he convinced her to take it, and a copy of The Idiot, original in Russian, from Reid.

Garcia had invited them all for celebration drinks after work and Emily said that she had dinner plans with her mother, making the tech pout. After assuring her that she would meet the team later at the bar, she texted Hotch, who told her he would be arriving at eight. The unit chief said he would straight to the bar and she told him to save a dance for her, to which he answered he would be saving all dances for her that night.

"It's really good to see you too, Berta." Emily said with a smile as she took off her coat and handed it to the woman.

"Emily…" Her mother's voice startled her as she turned around to see her coming down the stairs, a wary smile on her face. Emily gasped soundlessly at the sight of her mother, the bruises covered up with make-up but still noticeable.

"Mother!" She gasped as Elizabeth got closer and she could see the split lip and the cut under her eyebrow. "What happened to you?" She asked and the older woman smiled sadly at her, closing the few steps between them and surprising Emily with a hug.

"Oh, Emily… it's so good to see you…" She said quietly against the agent's hair and Emily frowned, returning the hug warily.

"Mom, what happened to your face?" She asked again as she pulled back and barely contained another gasp when she noticed the moisture at her mother's eyes.

"It's a long story, honey. But let me see you… you look so beautiful, so grown up… I can't believe you're turning thirty-eight…" She said caressing the younger's cheek and Emily frowned inwardly at the unusual use of the endearment.

"You told me everything was okay on the phone, mom, but you're hurt. What happened to you?" Emily said, this time more firmly, and the woman sighed sadly, dropping her eyes to the floor in a very uncommon posture.

"There was an incident during my trip to England…" She said. "Let's go to the dining room, the dinner is about to be served. I'll explain everything to you then…" She promised and Emily nodded, following her to the other room.

The dinner was served and Emily refused the red wine, wining a raised eyebrow from her mother. "So? What happened?"

"There was an attempted invasion at the Embassy while I was having a minute with the prime minister. It was just an attempt, they didn't manage to get in, but we kind of got caught up in the middle of the crossfire, and something exploded in the room right beside the one we were. I was closer to the wall so I got most of the impact, hence my face." She explained and Emily gasped.

"My God, mother… I didn't hear anything about it…"

"And you shouldn't. It was completely hushed up." Elizabeth said. "It happened almost a week ago. I stayed another couple of days there before coming back to the states. I would've called you earlier but I had to debrief with the government first…" She added.

"I understand…" Emily nodded. "I'm so glad you're okay, though…" She said sincerely reaching forward to grab her hand with hers. Even though their relationship wasn't one of the healthiest, she was still her mother and the prospect of something happening to her was deeply painful to Emily.

Elizabeth smiled sadly at her and blinked the moisture in her eyes, squeezing her daughter's hand. "I kept thinking that I would never see you again…" She said quietly. "I'd never tell you how proud I am of your or how much I'm sorry for not being the mother you deserved…"

"Mom…" Emily said quietly but Elizabeth shook her head.

"It's the truth, Emily. I've never treated you the way you deserved, I've never made you a priority in my life… you were raised by nannies and housekeepers while I lived my ambitions without caring for you… I drove your father away, I drove you away when you were old enough to speak for yourself, and I have no one else to blame but me." She said with a sad sigh and Emily closed her eyes briefly. "I know it must be too late for me… you don't need me in your life anymore, you're independent, brilliant and so beautiful…" She said with a watery voice. "I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you, Emily. You're the thing I'm mostly proud in my life, even though I have nothing to do with who you've become…"

"That's not true, mom…" Emily said squeezing her hand and Elizabeth looked down to her plate.

"You're brave, Emily. You've reached so much without anyone's help, without my contacts, without using your name, just with your effort and your determination… when that bomb exploded beside me I only thought about how much I was glad that I'd brought you into this world because you make the difference, every single day, and I'm so proud of you…" She said and looked up, her eyes now damp. Emily too was barely keeping her tears at bay, hearing those worlds from the woman she resented so much in her life. "I wish I could somehow go back in the past, knowing everything I know right now, because I know I'd treat you differently. I'd know how much I'd regret for being so negligent with you… but I can't. The only thing I can do is to apologize with you, and hope that someday you'll be able to forgive me for everything I did or didn't do to you…"

Emily was trying to absorb everything but it was hard. She'd spent her whole life missing this, wishing to have this contact, to hear these words from her mother, until the day she decided that she didn't need it, she didn't want it and she was better without it. She compartmentalized everything inside, just the way she'd learnt to do, and lived alone, walking on eggshells with everyone, having a hard time to trust, an even hardest time to love someone, and making almost impossible to be loved by someone.

She'd learnt to not care about the lack of support, the lack of love and caring a normal child should have. She'd learnt to raise her head and don't look down, to not let anyone to bring her down, ever. And now, hearing these words, coming from the woman who was the reason for her to be so tough and distrustful, it was hard to absorb everything.

Four months ago, Emily would've probably felt like she couldn't forgive her mother. The pain, the abandonment, the rancor, it would've been all too much for her just to forget like that, and she was sure that she wouldn't be to forgive.

But now, she placed her other hand on her growing belly, now she could understand the fear. The fear of messing up with a life that will depend on her, the fear of being not enough for the baby's needs, the fear of screwing up, it was too big. And she was thirty-eight. She could understand the unpreparedness her mother must've felt when she had her, being only twenty-seven. She looked at the broken woman in front of her and knew that if she could she would truly undo all the bad things she had done, all the neglect, all the mistakes she did while raising her.

 _You have to at least give her a chance. Even if you don't think she deserves it._

Hotch's words came back to her head and she knew that he was right. She had to give her a chance, because she had her baby to consider and she knew she would feel awful if she deprived her little baby from being around his grandmother.

"Mom…" She started, her thumb stroking her mother's hand as the older wiped her eyes with the tablecloth. "I know that you can't go back in time to undo what you did, but… maybe you can try again, being a good grandmother…" She said quietly as she caressed her baby bump.

The elder's eyes widened and she gasped, one hand covering her mouth, as a new wave of tears welled her eyes. "Oh my God… Emily… are you?" She asked and Emily nodded with a small smile. "Dear God… how far along are you?"

"Fifteen weeks." Emily answered and Elizabeth rose up from her chair.

"Let me look at you…" She asked and Emily followed her lead, smiling softly as her mother's hand came to rest on her bump. "Oh, God, I can feel it…" She whispered in awe and looked at Emily with soft eyes. "Are you okay, do you need anything?"

"I'm fine, mom. I'm seeing my doctor regularly and Aaron's been by my side through everything…" She answered and the woman raised her eyebrow.

"Aaron?"

"Yeah… you know him… agent Hotchner…" She explained and Elizabeth gasped in recognition. "The Bureau is aware… Agent Rossi does my evaluations now and everything's okay."

"Well, he's certainly a very handsome man…" Elizabeth said as they sat down again and Emily chuckled, nodding. "How long are you two together?"

Emily winced before answering. "Uh, we're not…" She said and Elizabeth frowned. "It's a very long story and we're kind of working on it…" She explained and the older nodded.

"If you're happy, Emily…"

"I am." Emily said with a smile, without a trace of doubt. "I am so incredibly happy…"

"I can't believe you're pregnant… do you know what you're having?" She asked.

"No, we decided to wait until the birth…" She said and Elizabeth nodded. Both women finished their meals while chatting about Emily's pregnancy and Elizabeth's job, and for the first time in her life Emily felt comfortable in the presence of her mother.

It was indeed a good feeling and she hoped that things would get better in the future.

\\*\\*\\*\

Emily searched for her team around the crowd and smiled as she spotted them sitting on a table at the corner. It was almost nine when she left her mother's place so everyone was already there, including Hotch, who had come straight from the airport. She walked towards them and just as she approached them closely she noticed a strange face with them.

After taking another few steps her frown deepened as she heard the stranger, a woman probably in her late early thirties, leaning a little too close to Hotch, asking him to dance with her. "I'm sorry but no… I'm just here with my friends, thank you." He said politely as he removed the offended hand that rested on his bicep. Unfortunately, the woman didn't get the hint.

"Just one little dance, handsome… you can come back to your friends later…" She asked, using her fingertip to trace the line of Hotch's leather jacket from her forearm to her shoulder, and Emily huffed, closing the last few steps to the table. She circled Hotch's waist from behind, using her other hand to remove the woman's hand from his shoulder.

"I don't know if you're dumb or deaf, but I believe he already said he's not interested." She said looking straight to the woman's eyes and could see Hotch smiling amusedly from the corner of her eye.

"And you are?" The woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The only one he'll dance with tonight. Now please, you're interrupting our night with our friends…" She said gesturing for her to leave.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Emily and then rolled it, huffing. "Whatever, he's not even _that_ good looking…" She said and Emily snorted.

"Oh, but he sure is…" She said while running her hand through Hotch's covered chest. "That's why you have a little bit of drool right here…" She said gesturing to the corner of her mouth. Morgan and Dave couldn't contain their laughs at that and the woman left fuming with anger and embarrassment.

"Damn, princess, that was harsh!" Morgan exclaimed and Emily giggled, winking at him, before turning back to Hotch and throwing her hands around his neck.

"Hi!"

Hotch chuckled at her and returned the hug, squeezing her tightly and pressing a kiss where her neck met with her shoulder. "Hello, birthday girl."

"I missed you…" She murmured against his skin.

"I missed you too…" He murmured back. They pulled apart and Emily turned around to look at the team, which was watching them amusedly. "Hi, guys…" She stayed between Hotch's legs, his hands resting on her waist and his head propped on her right shoulder.

"What? We don't get hugs and kisses?" Dave teased and she narrowed her eyes at him, throwing him a finger, playfully. "How was your dinner, cara?"

"Surprisingly good. Very good…" She answered with a smile and Hotch squeezed her side.

"Really?" He asked smiling and she nodded at him.

"Mmm. I'll tell you later…" She said and he nodded. They ordered another round of drinks, a coke for Emily, and continued to chat for a while. The DJ started playing one of Emily's favorite songs and she turned around quickly to look at Hotch with hopeful eyes. "How about that dance now?"

He smiled at her and nodded, getting up from his bench and taking her hand with his. He took her to the middle of the dance floor and spun her around, making her giggle childishly, before bringing her into his arms, one arm circling her waist and the other holding her hand against his chest. "So… did you have a good birthday?" He asked against her ear and she nodded quickly, smiling at him.

 _I can feel the magic floating in the air_

 _Being with you gets me that way_

"I did. I did a really awesome day… and now it's just got perfect…" She whispered at him and he looked down at her, leaning his forehead against hers and smiling.

 _I watch the sunlight dance across your face and I've_

 _Never been this swept away_

"Yeah? Well, I'm glad for that…" He whispered back as he swung them across the dancefloor, the rest of the crowd completely forgotten.

"I'm really happy, Aaron…" Emily whispered, looking straight into his eyes and Hotch closed them briefly, sighing happily as he squeezed her tightly against his frame.

"I'm really happy, too…" He said and she shivered, the feeling of his breathing against her lips causing tingles on her skin. She untangled her hand from his and brought both arms to circle his neck, his own making its way to her waist, and they danced.

They danced slowly, eyes connected the whole time, their breathing brushing against their lips and the meaning of that moment not being lost to either of them. They were moving forwards, towards each other and they both knew it and were happy for that. It was a feeling that either of them expected to feel, not at this point of their lives, not for each other, but they knew they couldn't ignore it anymore, at least not to themselves.

 _Cause I can feel you breathe_

 _It's washing over me_

 _And suddenly I'm melting into you_

 _There's nothing left to prove,_

 _Baby, all we need is just to be…_

 _Caught up in the touch,_

 _Slow and steady rush_

 _Baby, isn't that the way that love is supposed to feel?_

 _I can feel you breathe… just breathe…_

As the music flow across the room and the stared at each other, both of them came to the same conclusion, something that was stamped on both their faces, if just they had the courage to admit it.

 _I love you_.

 **A/N: God, it's too much fluffy for my heart to take it! I hope you guys liked Elizabeth's part, I really loved to write it. I think that being a mother would make Emily more sensitive at her mother's regret, even though the scars will still take a while to heal. Also, I love the idea of a jealous Emily, so here she is! lol. Next chapter will be up soon, and we'll have Haley's first attempt. Let's see how Hotch will take it.**

 **Send me your thoughts! I love your reviews, it really makes my day :)**


	18. Interlude

**A/N: So, I was writing the eighteenth chapter and my friend told me that she missed having more of the team on the previous one. So I reread it and I had to agree with her, and because of that, I'm adding an extra chapter here. It's ridiculously short, just a between-chapters, a small talk while the team watched Emily and Hotch at the dancefloor. The next chapter, the real big one, will be posted tomorrow.**

Chapter 18: Interlude

"They're just so… cute!" Garcia beamed as the team watched the couple dancing at the dancefloor.

"Well, is blatantly obvious how much they've become closer after what happened…" JJ said. "I honestly thought that maybe they'd grow apart from each other with time, the weight of the case being too much, but… they just became closer…" She said with a shrug.

"The baby helped. I think that if Emily hadn't got pregnant maybe they wouldn't be so close… but with the baby in the middle they had a connection with each other…" Dave said while eying the couple.

"That's right. It wasn't something they could just ignore… Hotch would never leave Emily alone in this…" Morgan said.

"Did you guys know that Emily met his mother?" JJ asked and Garcia gasped.

"Really?"

"Mhmm. And apparently they hit perfectly. She even had lunch with her one time… without Hotch..." The blonde said with a nod and the others eyed the couple again.

"He's going to kiss her!" Garcia whispered excitedly as they watched Hotch lean his forehead on Emily's. They waited but the unit chief just whispered a few words against the brunette's lips and continued to dance, arms wrapped around each other.

Garcia pouted and Morgan chuckled, kissing her forehead. "I think they're not there yet, baby girl."

"Do you guys think they'll get together eventually?" Reid asked and Rossi snorted.

"The right question is when, kiddo…" The Italian said. "I know for a fact that Aaron's apartment isn't being used for a while…" He said and Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really. And I know Aaron for a very long time. That man doesn't look at anyone like _that_ …" He said pointing at the couple. "I've never seen him looking at Haley like that. And the guy was whipped for that woman…" He added.

"They're really cute together…" JJ said.

"They have to know that they're in love with each other, right?" Morgan said and Rossi shook his head.

"They may be aware of their own feelings but… they're both too stubborn and damaged to believe that their feelings are reciprocated…" The elder said.

"C'mon, they're both profilers… it's just nauseating how much they're into each other, I mean, look at them…" Morgan said pointing at the couple. Hotch was smiling while Emily said something, the rest of the crowd completely ignored by them. "They're already acting like a couple…"

"That may be true, but they've experienced so much delusion and disappointment in their lives that they think it's not possible that they'd found someone so perfect for them like that… something must be wrong, nothing is never too perfect like that…" JJ added and Rossi nodded at her.

"Exactly. It'll take a little more for them to finally accept what is happening between them…" He said. "But until then… they seem to be doing just fine with the way things are…" He added as Emily buried her face in Hotch's neck and the unit chief squeezed her tightly against his frame, one hand caressing her back and the other, her hair.

The team smiled as they watched their friends, knowing that even though they were brought together through such horrendous event, it was probably the best thing that'd ever happened to them.

 **A/N: I pouted along with Garcia because they didn't kiss! :( But their first real kiss after the case is on its way, very very soon. Reviews are appreciated, and I'd also like to thank each and every one of you, who take your time to read, review and PM me about this fic. Thank you, really. You guys are the best readers. And I'm still receiving prompts, send me yours! :)**


	19. Insanity

**A/N: So, because I promised that the new chapter would be posted today, here I am. It's close to midnight here and I'm exhausted, but anyway, I like to keep my promises. Here is Haley's first strike. Don't have much to say other than, you were advised. Haley's a bitch.**

 **I'm sorry for any errors and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

Chapter 19: Insanity.

"Good night, buddy. I love you…" Hotch said with a fond smile as he tucked his son into his bed. He'd asked Haley to take him out for supper that night and after the little boy requested, she'd allowed him to participate of his bedtime routine for the first time ever since they had separated. Jack was thrilled when his daddy bathed him and helped him to dress himself and brush his teeth, before heading to bed.

The profiler could see in his son's eyes how much he had missed this, having him near, taking care of him and just being there, available for him. It was an understatement to say that Hotch had missed these things too. It hurt, physically hurt, to not be near his boy on daily basis, to not see his innocent face after the horrors he faced at work every day. His boy was growing, each day a bit more, and he was missing so much and it pained him.

"Night daddy. Night mommy…" Jack murmured sleepily as he snuggled into his Superman blanket. Haley approached the pair from her spot at the doorframe and leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead.

"Sweet dreams, baby… love you…" She whispered and adjusted the blanket over him before stepping back and nudging Hotch to follow her out of the room. They closed the door behind them and walked in silence to the living room. "He really misses you, you know… especially in these small moments…" She said quietly.

"I know… I miss him too, every day…" He answered just as quietly. They shared an awkward silence for a handful seconds and then Hotch cleared his throat, gesturing to the door. Before he could open his mouth to say goodbye, though, Haley cut him.

"Would you like some coffee?" She asked with hopeful eyes and Hotch sighed as he looked to his watch. He had told Emily he would take Jack for dinner and drop him home and she asked him to stop at the grocery to buy some popcorn and ice-cream for their movie night on his way home. He had already taken more time than he thought he would, staying to tuck Jack in, so he started to brush her offer off.

"I really have to…"

"Please? Just a small cup, a few minutes…" She asked and he hesitated before nodding reluctantly at her.

"Okay… I have a few minutes…" She smiled at him and walked to the kitchen, with him following her. She started the pot and opened the cabinet to grab two mugs.

"Jack was really excited when you called…" She started with a small smile. "He ran off to his room and started to go through his drawers to find his Superman new shirt because he wanted to show you…"

"Yeah, he showed me… along with his Superman sneakers and his Superman socks and his Superman watch…" He said with a raised eyebrow and Haley chuckled.

"I know… it's just a toy, it doesn't really work but he loves it…" She answered and he nodded smiling. "If you want, you can take him out to dinner a couple of nights when you're in town… you know, besides your regular weekends… I know it wasn't what the agreement said but I know he'll love it…" She offered and Hotch's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh. That'd be really great, Haley… thank you…" He said a little taken at back at her change of posture. Not that she usually made a great deal of their custody arrangements, being rather understanding when he needed to change his days because of a case. But the actual offer of more time with his son, out of what the agreed when they signed the divorce papers, was something surprising.

He heard her sighing just as the pot got ready and then she served them both a mug of coffee, adding two spoons of sugar in his, the way he liked it. "I'm sorry for separating you and Jack, Aaron…" She started and he stopped the mug midway his mouth and stared at her. "I never meant to draw you two apart… I know I made a lot of mistakes when our marriage was near the end and the biggest of them was to put myself between your relationship with our son… I had no right to do that. I excused my actions saying that I was doing what I thought it was the best for all of us but the truth is that I just thought of myself… I didn't think about what your absence from Jack's life would do with you two and that's inexcusable."

Hotch stared at her before placing his mug back on the counter and taking a deep breath. "Haley… there's no meaning for us to start digging on what we did or didn't do, who made mistakes and who didn't… what's done is done and now we just have to accept it and move on…" He said and she smiled sadly at him.

"Jack isn't the only one who misses you…" She said and this time he was the one who sighed.

"Haley…"

"I was looking through some boxes while cleaning the closet the week and I found a few things…" She cut him and stared down at her mug. "I found our wedding photos and other albums and it brought so many memories…" She said and he sighed quietly. "Do you remember that trip we made to Hawaii on our first anniversary? You took twenty days off and we spent most of our time in our bungalow… the view was so beautiful and we had to walk just a few minutes to the beach…" She said and he closed his eyes at the wave of memories. "There was this really nice local couple and they told us that we reminded them when they were young… what were their names again?" She asked and Hotch sighed before answering.

"Meli and Aukai." She smiled at him and nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right! They were married for thirty-eight years and I remember we promised that if we'd ever get to that point we'd come back to the island to celebrate our anniversary again…" She said with a tone of regret and Hotch rubbed his face tiredly.

"Where do you want to go with this?"

"Nowhere, just… I really miss you, Aaron. Every single day that you're not here anymore, I miss you…" She said and he shook his head slightly, dropping his gaze to the counter, a bitter taste on his mouth.

"Haley…" He started but she cut him again.

"I thought that what we had wasn't good anymore, wasn't enough. I thought that having just half of you here, while you were focused on your job, it wasn't okay. I thought that I'd be better without you here, with me, with us, but I was wrong. Not having you hear at all is so much worse and so much more lonely… I miss our pillow talks and the way you'd always take the time to listen to me when I wanted to talk about my day, no matter how tired you were… I miss our family dinners and how we'd always enjoy our private moments when Jack was sleeping… I miss you, so much, Aaron…" She said and reached out to clasp her hand with him over the counter but he stepped back as if it burned.

"What you didn't see, Haley, was that you'd never had just half of me. Ever. I was always here, one hundred percent focused on you and Jack. Unfortunately, my working hours took most of my time and I couldn't be near you guys the much I wanted. But not even for a moment did I put my job in front of you guys. There were times that I admit that I made mistakes. I'd forget about some date or some appointment, like that time with Jack, but it wasn't for negligence. It wasn't because I chose to ignore things concerning to you guys… it was because sometimes I was just so tired and my mind was so full of things that I didn't remember it. It'd slip from my mind and because of that I missed a lot…" He said quietly and Haley nodded at him, trying to approach him again.

"I know that, Aaron. I know that _now_ and I'm so sorry for not trying to understand you better back then… I'm so very sorry that you don't even know… I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with you and don't think for a moment that I left because I didn't love you anymore… I was just so tired of waiting for you, worried if you'd come back home in one piece… I was tired of sleeping in a cold bed, without you beside me… it wasn't what I planned when we got married, Aaron…" She said and he shook his head.

"I know how hard it was, Haley. You were alone here but you forget that I was alone there too… you at least had Jack here, had our home, our safety, our space to feel secured. I was most of the time in some cheap motel, laying alone in a horrible bed, after spending the day seeing the most horrendous things." He said and she dropped her gaze. "Do you know how easy would it be if I wanted some company to spend the night? Do you have any idea how many women offered to make me forget the horrors I've seen?" He asked rhetorically. "But I've never, _ever_ , even thought about accepting. No matter how cold the night was, no matter how lonely I was feeling, I never even considerate the possibility of cheating on you, because in my eyes, you were everything I'd ever need. You were my everything, I put you into a pedestal and there just wasn't anyone else for me… and I honest to God thought that you felt the same thing about me…" He said and she sniffed, wiping her eyes before looking at him.

"You don't know how much I regret for doing what I did… how ashamed I am…" She said quietly. "I was weak and I know that I hurt you with my mistakes but, Aaron, it wasn't because I stopped loving you…"

"You think you hurt me?" He asked quietly before snorting bitterly. "Haley, you nearly destroyed me when you threw our marriage away. It almost killed me when I walked into this house and heard nothing but silence. When I found that note, saying that you were gone because you were tired of what we had, that what I had to offer you wasn't enough anymore, I thought my life was over, because the thing I treasured the most was gone, my safe heaven, my sanity. You didn't hurt me, Haley. You nearly killed me when I found out you had broken our vows and finished destroying me when you left as if over fifteen years of our lives hadn't meant anything."

"I thought that your job was the problem…" She whispered and he shook his head.

"My job wasn't the problem… despite of what you may think, my job isn't just a duty. My job is who I am… hunting those men, saving people from the horror they're bond to suffer, that's what I was born to do. The law school, being an attorney, even the SWAT, was just a road I had to take to get where I am now. I would never be completely happy or satisfied with a 9/5 regular job, standing behind a desk, sighing papers and leaving just in time for a happy hour. That's just not who I am…" He explained and she nodded.

"I know that now…" She looked at him and he sighed inwardly at the sight of her tears. "I'm sorry for throwing away what we had… for not trying harder, for not understanding…"

"It's in the past now, Haley. We can't change that… I know I made some mistakes too and I'm sorry for that. We have Jack to think about and I'm glad to see that we manage to have a normal and civil conversation now…" He said and she nodded slightly.

"I'm glad too… but… don't you ever think about us anymore? Don't you feel anything? Don't you miss us?" She asked while walking around the counter to stand in front of him.

"Haley…" He shook his head but she approached him, cornering him.

"What if we took another chance? We had almost twenty years together, Aaron, dating and the married… it's a whole life… we can't just throw it away like this, without fighting… Jack deserves this… he misses you, I miss you… don't you miss us?" She asked as she placed a hand on his chest and Hotch felt himself getting nauseous at the way things had turned to.

He stepped away from her and shook his head vehemently as he walked towards the front door. "I miss my son every single minute, Haley. But we can't just take another chance like that… it's not fair, especially with him. It's been over a year since we signed the papers, he's just getting used to the way things are. We can confuse him just because you suddenly want to take a chance. What brought this on? You, better than anyone, know how much I fought to not sigh those papers, how much I wanted another chance. And you never gave it to me. Now you suddenly want it?" He put his jacket on and shook his head again. "There's nothing left to be thrown away, Haley. What we had now resumes to Jack and that's it. You should know that better than me" he said opening the door "you were the one who said the last word."

Hotch walked towards his car in a daze, completely astonished at the talk he had just had. He couldn't believe that after so much pain, after spending so much time trying to get over his failed marriage, Haley had suddenly decided that she changed her mind and asked to give them another chance.

Another chance?

He shook his head. There was no space for other chances when it concerned to his ex-wife anymore. He spent a lot of time trying to move on, trying to forget her and how much he loved her, and now it was just too late. He couldn't do this to himself, he couldn't do this to Jack. The boy would be so confused if they started changing his routine again, in an attempt to fix the unfixable, just to start the process of the separation all over again.

Because he knew that that was the inevitable end for that.

And certainly he could never, ever, do this to Emily. Not now that they were building something, not now that they were heading towards a future.

Not now that he was happy.

No, he certainly couldn't do this.

Haley watched as her ex-husband drove off, from the living room window, and sighed unhappily. She wasn't expecting of course that he would walk straight back to her arms in the first try. She had really messed up in the past and she would have to build her space again.

She dropped the curtain and walked back to the kitchen, spilling both untouched coffees in the sink.

One thing she knew, though. She wouldn't give up at the first no.

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch dropped his keys at the small table at the front hall of Emily's apartment forty minutes later. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch, wincing at the time. He had spent some time just driving after leaving Haley's, trying to absorb everything that happened and to wrap his head around the fact that his ex-wife apparently wanted another change.

"Thank God, you're home! I was getting worried! What took you so long?" He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Emily's voice and looked up to see her walking down the stairs, dressed only in his FBI t-shirt and black shorts. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bum and her fresh cleaned face was just glowing at him. He closed the few steps between them and sneaked his arms around her waist, bringing her tightly against his chest in a hug. Emily frowned at his antics and rubbed his short hair with her fingers. "Is everything okay?" She asked after a few minutes.

"I forgot our popcorn. And the ice-cream. I'm sorry…" He murmured against her skin and she shook her head slightly, her fingers soothingly caressing his scalp.

"It's okay, Aaron… are you okay?" She asked worriedly and he nodded with a deep sigh.

"I'm all good now…" He murmured and she couldn't avoid a small smile. "Can we just go to bed?" He asked. It was late, but not so late that they couldn't watch a movie. But he just wanted to lay down and hold her tightly, to forget all the feelings that had been brought up with the unfortunate conversation.

"Okay…" Emily answered hesitantly and then squeaked as she was suddenly lifted out of the ground in bride style. "I can walk, Aaron…"

"I know you can. I just want you in my arms…" He murmured back and all her annoyance evaporated at the tone of his voice. She just nodded at him and melted into his arms as he walked up the stairs to her room. The smell of strawberries that filled his nose was almost enough to erase completely the bad memories and when he felt her melting into him completely, the feeling of her was just what he needed to get back his sanity.

He couldn't give up on this.

Not anymore.

This was his everything now.

 **A/N: I don't like unnecessary drama so I decided to make things really smooth and natural. Just a talk, a attempt to remember a few memories and to try to make him start seeing his old family as an option too. Of course, Hotch isn't a fool, but the seed is planted. Let's wait and see what will happen next.**

 **I'm still receiving prompts, send me yours!**

 **I'm finishing IGFED's new chapter and the second part of Emily's Big Mouth. I'll post in on the next few days.**

 **Reviews are highly appreciated and I'd love to hear from you, what you thought of this.**


	20. Doubts

**A/N: Guys, I am so very sorry for the lack of updates. My computer tried to commit suicide and it took forever to fix it! I'm sorry really for taking so long but everything's okay now and the updates will come regularly.**

 **I'd like to take everyone for your reviews. I can't believe we've reached two-hundred and I'm so happy. So very happy that this chapter has a surprise. And a very good one. I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm sorry for any errors.**

 **Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.**

Chapter 20: Doubts.

"We should start thinking about the nursery…" Hotch said one night while they were making some omelets for dinner. It was Saturday and the team had just got back from a case in Indianapolis, so they were having a quiet night in. Emily had just finished her sixtieth week and they had had an appointment earlier that week where the doctor said everything was looking good until now. She said they could find the gender of their baby already but as they had agreed before, they said they wanted to wait until the birth. "With our schedules we can't leave it for later… you're may be going on maternity leave in a few months but I want to help you with it…" He said and she nodded at him.

"I know… I was thinking about decorations, looking for some ideas on-line, you know…" She said and he hummed.

"And what would you like? Any ideas?" He asked and she smiled wishfully.

"I was thinking about something classic… the crib, the changing table and the wardrobe all white, the walls painted in a light shade of yellow, maybe with a tree painted with a few birds and an owl, the branches full of leaves, you know…" She said and he nodded with a smile. "I want a big and comfort white rocking chair, like those one we see in magazines, with a feet rest… maybe we could put some white shelves in a wall to arrange some toys and teddy bears…"

"We could make a sign with the baby's name to hang above the crib, in the wall…" He suggested and she beamed at him.

"That'd be perfect…" She whispered.

"Would you rather turn the guest bedroom or the office into the nursery?" He asked while flipping the omelet and she hesitated. She remembered her talk with Anna a few weeks ago and how much she wanted to provide her baby the home she never had. She didn't want to start it with that apartment, she wanted to bring her baby to her real home after the hospital, where he or she would grow up comfortably, with space and privacy.

"About that…" She started hesitantly as she squeezed a few oranges to make some fresh juice for them. "I don't think I want to do the nursery here…" She said and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah? And where exactly would we do it?" He asked and she took a deep breath before answering.

"I want our baby to have a real home… not an apartment." She started and he turned off the stove and looked at her attentively. "I want our child to have a big backyard to play and space to grow. Without elevators and next door neighbors, you know, I want privacy…" She explained and he nodded slowly at her.

"So you want to buy a house?" He asked and she nodded at him.

"I talked about it with Anna when we had that lunch together… I'd like to move before the baby is born. I think I'd be easier, less things to move, no baby to worry about… and it'd be better if I do it before I reach the third semester…" She said and he agreed with a nod. "I thought about calling my realtor and asking her to select a few places for us to look…"

Hotch nodded in agreement as he served the omelets into their plates and considered about where he would fit into her plans. They were playing dumb and he knew it, since his own apartment was almost empty of his important things, having just a few clothes he never used and some old books and other things he brought when he moved out of his house with Haley. He hadn't even gone there in at least three weeks and his apartment manager had already called asking if he would sign another lease, since it would end in the next couple of weeks. He hadn't been able to give him an answer because even though his apartment search had been a complete disaster, not that he had put too much effort into it, he didn't want to sign a compromise with a place he hated and also he completely loved to live with Emily and really didn't want to change that.

But now, with these new plans, he wasn't so sure of where he stood anymore. The truth was that he wanted to go wherever she wanted, to buy a house together and make plans for the future, to make the nursery together and wait for their baby's arrival, to go home with her every single night and lay on the bed with her next to him, surrounded by her smell and the feeling of her skin. He wanted her, period, so desperately, that he couldn't even think about living his life without her by his side anymore.

He watched her face carefully and thought of a way of bringing the subject without startling her. "You know, my lease is ending in two weeks…" He said hesitantly and she widened her eyes slightly.

"Oh?" He approached her slowly and while she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"They called me this week asking if I'll want to sign another six months. They need an answer until Wednesday about either I'm staying of moving…" He said and before he could finish she was already shaking her head, making his heart warm with hope.

"I don't want you signing up another six months in that shit, Aaron." She said firmly and his lips twitched at her words.

"I know but we didn't find a place for me yet, sweetheart…" He stated and she dropped her eyes to the counter briefly.

"What if… what if _we_ found a place?" She suggested hesitantly and he thought his heart would burst with happiness and hope. She wanted to keep living with him too and she wanted to make such a big commitment like buying a house together.

"Together?" He asked just to confirm but his eyes were shining with such joy that he knew she was aware of it.

"Yeah, together… we could find a four-bedroom house, one for each one of us, one for the baby and a guest one…" She said and he raised an eyebrow at her. They wouldn't have a bedroom for each one of them and he knew that she knew that, but he let her playing stupid for a while because they could go back to that later.

"Are you sure, Emily? It's big commitment…" He asked after a few seconds and held his breath as she looked at him seriously for a few moments before speaking again.

"Do you want to live in a place of your own?"

"No, I really don't…" He answered promptly shaking his head. "I want to live with you and our baby…" He added and saw her eyes watering as she smiled at him, taking his hand with hers.

"Then you call and say that you won't be signing another lease and I will call my realtor and ask her to select a few houses for us to see… until then, we can bring all your things here and you'll be finally out of that excuse of apartment." She said and he squeezed her hand, bringing the other to brush the hair off her face, cupping her cheek.

"We're officially living together, then…" He murmured and she smiled at him, leaning towards him slightly.

"We are…"

"And we're buying a house together…"

"We are…"

"I really like that…" He murmured, his body leaning a few inches closer, his hand caressing her cheek and his thumb brushing at the corner of her mouth. "I really like that, a lot…" He added as his forehead touched hers and she sighed contently against his lips, closing her eyes as her hands found its way to his forearms. His hands circled her waist and he brought her near him, smiling when she buried her face into his neck, sighing contently.

"Aaron…" The way his name was pronounced so softly and so needy at the same time sent shivers at his spine and he used every last bit of his self-control to not bend his head down and capture her lips with his. They stood in this embrace for a few minutes before they were interrupted by the growl of her stomach, making their both chuckle.

"Let's fed you, uh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and she nodded with a shy smirk. "You go set the table and I'll just use the bathroom for a minute…" He said brushing his lips on her forehead as he walked away. He smiled slightly looking at his reflection in the mirror as he washed his hands a few minutes later. He was afraid that it wasn't time for them yet, that it was too soon to even start thinking of moving their relationship to another step, because they were just starting to trust each other, to lean on each other and even though he knew for sure that she was his future, his everything, the way they started things was far from the ideal and it scared the crap out of him the idea of not working it because of possible scars of what happened.

One thing he knew for sure, though. They were moving forwards, a step each day, and he wouldn't mess this up. He couldn't mess this up.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Aaron Joel Hotchner…" A strange voice spoke at the silence of the conference room making all six heads snap up in surprise as the team worked in the Conference Room of the Austin's PD station. The man in question smiled as he identified the red-haired woman walking towards him and rose from his seat to greet her.

"Michele…" The pair exchanged a hug as the others watched curiously. "So you're Detective Bennett, uh?" He asked and the woman nodded at him, her hands still resting comfortably in his forearm.

"Yup. When one of the officers told me that the lead agent of the Behavior Analysis Unit was Agent Hotchner I almost didn't believe it…" She said in a light southern accent.

"Well, it's been what, eighteen years?" He asked and she nodded.

"More or less. Time was very good with you, though, even more handsome than I remember…" She said bluntly and Emily couldn't contain her expression of shock as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. It was clear that Hotch had a history with the woman and by the way she was eyeing him, on her count it was far from over.

Hotch chuckled embarrassedly as he shook his head and took a step back, brushing her hands off his arm subtly. "You look very good too, Michele…" That was an understatement, Emily thought. The woman was gorgeous. Her fair skin was completely flawless, just like her red-hair, falling until the middle of her back in slight curves, and on top of that, her blue eyes were absolutely beautiful and made her face glow.

She also had a very fit body and good taste in clothes, dressed in a pair of dark jeans that hugged her curves perfectly and a grey sweater with a low cut neckline that showed her assets without being vulgar or slutty.

"How is Haley?" She said before eyeing his ring finger and raising a questioning eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, we got a divorce over a year ago." He nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry for that…" She said and Emily almost snorted because the woman didn't look apological at all. "Did you two have kids?"

"A boy. Jack. He's three." He said and she smiled.

"Well, I bet you're the goofiest dad of all…" She said leaning towards him slightly and he nodded with a small smile while shifting away from her again.

"Let me introduce you to my team…" He said hoping to shift the attention to more important business. "These are Agents Dave Rossi, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss and Dr. Spencer Reid. Guys, this is Michele Bennett. We went to high school together…" He explained and the team nodded politely at the woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, even in such circumstances. I'm sorry for not being here when you guys arrived, I was at a meeting with the local press because we had a few problems with the information being released. I managed to have them agreeing with being more discreet with the case news in exchange of making a press conference in the next couple of days. I hope it's enough time…" She explained and Hotch nodded.

"We're going through the victimology again and we called the families to come for another interview… Rossi and Morgan went to the crime scenes and Reid is working on geographical profile to see if we can narrow the unsub's area." Hotch explained.

"I see. I already interviewed the families and they didn't know anything about the murders though…" The detective said and Hotch nodded politely.

"I understand that, but we hope Prentiss can get something new with them, something you may not have noticed in your first contact with them…" He explained and Michele made eye contact with Emily for a couple of seconds, before eyeing the brunette agent up and down and looking back at Hotch with a polite smile.

"Anything you need, Aaron… I need to go see the mayor now to speak about a few issues in another case but I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay? Officer Kent is at your disposal for anything you may need…" She said and he thanked her. "It's very good to see you again, Aaron, and maybe when the case is over we can meet for dinner to catch up, uh?" She suggested and Hotch just smiled slightly at her.

"Maybe… let's solve the case first…" He said evasively and she nodded, patting his arm and waving at the team as she walked away.

"Well, she's really straight-forward…" Dave commented when they were alone again and Hotch nodded with a small smile.

"Always was… she was at the drama club with Haley… always the star of the show…" He said and Dave nodded.

"I see. She's a very beautiful woman, that's for sure." He said and Hotch just nodded.

"Did you know that having both red-hair and blue eyes is one of the most rare combinations? Only one percent of the world's population has it…" Reid said just as the officer came in to say that the family of the first victim had arrived and Emily rolled her eyes.

"Let's get to work, everyone…" Hotch said, ending the subject. Emily nodded at him, getting up and walking towards the room where the parents waited. She had more important things to think about.

\\*\\*\\*\

Emily Prentiss wasn't an insecure woman. She'd never been. Even as a teenager, when she moved from a country to another, always being the new girl, she didn't care about other people's opinions and what they thought about her. She just held her head up and lived her life without needing anyone's approval.

That's why she was absolutely furious with herself as she watched Hotch's interaction with the detective of the case.

They were working at the case for over three days now and ever since the first day Detective Bennett had set her nails into Hotch and even though the lead profiler hadn't showed any interest in her advances, the woman wasn't afraid of trying to get his attention anytime she could.

The brunette was working with JJ and Reid at the conference room as she watched the detective talking a little too much close for her liking with Hotch outside the room. "Be careful or you may actually kill her with your eyes…" She startled with her friend's voice.

"I don't know what you were talking about…" She mumbled as she looked back at her reports, ignoring the blonde's snort.

"You know that he's not giving her any openings, right?" JJ asked after a few seconds and Emily just ignored her. The blonde made eye contact with Reid and the younger agent just shrugged. "Em?"

"He can do whatever he wants, JJ." Emily said with a sigh, looking up. "He's single, free to talk with whoever he pleases, to have dinner whenever he wants…" She added and JJ gasped.

"Emily, you can't be serious…" She said in astonishment. It was ridiculous if her friend really thought that their unit chief was single and free to see whoever he wanted. It was blatantly obvious that the two agents were together and she couldn't understand how the brunette could have any doubts of the nature of his feelings for her.

"It's the truth, JJ. Aaron is divorced and even though we're having a baby together we are _not_ together. He's free and he can see whoever he wants…" She said and her voice held such sadness and longing that made JJ want to slap her.

"Emily, don't be ridiculous! A blind man can see that you two are indeed together… you're living together, for God's sakes! And don't think we didn't notice that he doesn't use the guest room when we helped to move his things this weekend…" JJ said. The team had helped them to clean Hotch's old apartment and to move his things to her apartment over the weekend, and they also knew the couple was looking for a house together.

"Let it go, JJ… we are not together. It doesn't matter what it looks like. We're not a couple…" The brunette said and rose up from her seat, walking towards the restroom, passing through Hotch and the detective on her way.

"I can't believe it…" JJ huffed.

"And you guys say that I'm the one who's oblivious in the matters of the heart…" Reid murmured and the blonde chuckled at him. Her friend was definitely stupid and she wished she could do something about it.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Detective Bennett is rather interested in you, uh?" Dave said amusedly as they drove towards the coroner's office. Another victim had been found the day before and they were going to see what the autopsy had shown to help with the profile.

"Yeah, she's not exactly subtly…" Hotch said shaking his head. "I'm so very not interested, though…" He said and the older chuckled.

"I'm sure you're very content with your baby mommy, aren't you?" He asked and Hotch chuckled embarrassedly.

"I'm happy where I am, yes…" He nodded.

"Does she know that?" Dave asked and Hotch looked at him with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Does she know that you're happy with her? That you're not interested in Detective Bennett or any other woman?" He asked and Hotch's frown deepened.

"We're not officially together but she knows I'm committed with her, Dave." He said and the elder just looked at him pointedly. "Doesn't she?"

"I know for sure that she told JJ that you were free to see whoever you wanted and you two were not together, even though you're having a baby together and living together…" Dave said.

"How can she…" Hotch started but Dave held up his hand to shush him.

"Emily's pregnant, Aaron. She's hormonal and that makes her insecure. I know it's not a word you usually associate with Emily Prentiss but think about it. You two are not officially together, like you just said, and a beautiful woman sets her eyes on you, showing interest, wanting to get closer… in her mind, that's much more appealing than a pregnant woman who's getting a couple of sizes bigger…" Dave explained and Hotch scoffed indignantly.

"Please, Dave. Emily's gorgeous. She's beautiful, sexy, stunning, and she just gets prettier at each day…" He said.

"Then tell her that. Make your intentions clear, my friend." He said and before the younger could say anything he added. "I'm not saying you to jump on the bed with her or to propose. I know the subject is delicate, with the way things happened. I understand your hesitation. But you need to make her see that she's the one you want, she's the only one you need and that you two are heading towards a future together."

Hotch just nodded at him and looked at the road, thinking about the way things had actually changed ever since they arrived. He noticed Emily distancing herself from him and it had confused him for a moment but he just shrugged off, thinking she was tired or focused on the case. Now that he knew the reason, though, he knew he needed to do something because he was damned if he'd let her slip through his fingers.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Emily, why don't you go to the hotel to get some rest? You've been up for over twenty hours and it looks like it's going to be a long night." Dave said as he watched the brunette stiff a yawn for the fifth time in ten minutes.

"I'm fine, Rossi…" She tried to protest but Hotch was already up and grabbing her jacket.

"Dave is right. C'mon, I'll drive you to the hotel…" He said and before Emily could reply, Michele cut her.

"Actually Aaron, I think we need to talk about that press conference we need to do in the morning…" She said and Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"You can coordinate that with JJ, she's our media liaison…" Hotch said firmly and looked back at Emily. "Shall we?"

"One of the officers can drive me or I can just take a cab…" She argued but Hotch shook his head.

"I insist. C'mon…" He said and she just sighed, nodding reluctantly and following him out of the room, feeling the detective stare behind her, smiling inwardly when Hotch placed his hand on her back.

Their drive to the hotel was silent as Emily opted to close her eyes as soon as they got into the car. As they arrived the hotel she unfastened her seatbelt and shook her head as he did the same and turned off the car. "You don't have to walk me to the door… you should help the detective with the press like she asked…" She said and there was just too much of annoyance in her voice that made him almost growl.

"That's JJ's job and I'm walking you up…" He said firmly as he opened the door and walked around the car to open hers. "Stop fighting, Emily, let's go." He said tiredly and the brunette just sighed before getting out of the car and walking towards the front hall, straight to the elevators. There was an awkwardness that wasn't usual between them and it made her skin tingle and she just wanted to get into bed and forget about everything.

As they reached their floor, they walked in silence towards her bedroom, their steps echoing through the empty hall. Emily opened her door with her card and turned back to him with what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Thank you for driving me. I'll try to get some rest now…"

"Let's get in for a minute, Em. I need to talk to you about something…" He said and she hated that the first thing in her mind was that he was going to say he was going to take the detective to dinner when the case was over. She hated this insecure woman that had taken her place but she couldn't help it.

"I'm really tired, Aaron, can't we talk later?" She asked and sighed when he shook his head negatively.

"Please, sweetheart. It's important." He said and her chest tightened at the endearment. She nodded reluctantly and they walked into her room, closing the door behind them.

She dropped her jacket at the bed and turned back to him, looking him straight in the eyes. "What is it, Aaron?"

He didn't like what he saw in front of him. He didn't like the lack of warmth in her eyes and the way her lips formed a thin line instead of the usual smile she always had towards him. He thought about how to explain to her what she meant, how she was his everything and he didn't want anything else, he didn't need anything else, but he didn't know how.

He didn't know how to put on words what he felt for her, how she made his legs tremble and his heart race all the time. He didn't know how to explain how much he needed her by his side each day and how the simple idea of living without her made him sick.

He didn't know how to explain any of this so he did the only thing he thought it could express how he felt.

He closed the few steps between them and caught her head in his hands, looking straight into her wide brown eyes.

And he then kissed her.

 **A/N: Please, don't hate me! I know it's cruel but I'll post again soon, I promise. But, did you guys like it? I wanted their first kiss to be something special so here it is! :) Please, send me your thoughts and let me know if you like it. Reviews are incredible appreciated.**


	21. Everything

**A/N: Holy Shit! Twenty reviews in the last chapter? You guys are the most amazing readers ever. Really. Thank you so very much, you guys made me so happy. I'm really sorry for taking so long, but it's the end of semester and my students are driving me crazy with their papers and the finals, so I really couldn't finish this sooner. I'm sorry.**

 **But here it is a new chapter and I will post a new oneshot, the first one of our December gifts. I will post another one in before Monday.**

 **Because of the works I want to do this month, I'm putting IGFED on stand by until January. But I promise I'm not giving up on it, it's just a small hiatus. I will continue Emily's Big Mouth this week too, though.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this and I'm sorry for any errors. There's a change I'll get a beta soon. *crossing fingers***

Chapter 21: Everything.

Her mouth parted against his making him groan throatily at the taste of her and he circled her waist with his arms, bringing her closer to him as he drowned himself at the sweetness of her lips. Emily moaned deeply and cupped the back of his neck with her hands, using it to bring him closer, meeting him halfway through their kiss with just as much passion and need as him, not really understanding what made him kiss her in the first place but enjoying and relishing every minute of it.

He didn't know how long they were standing there, in the middle of her hotel room, locked together in that kiss, and part of him knew that he needed to get back to the station, that their unsub was still out there, that the team was waiting for him to continue their work, that he had responsibilities, but he just told that part of him to shut the hell up, because he finally had her here, where he always wanted, with him, in his arms, so beautiful and so _his_ and that just made him want to eternize that moment.

Sometime after, he finally released her mouth, without taking his arms off of her, and they stood there, completely still, panting breathlessly against each other's lips. He opened his eyes slowly and felt his heart bursting with joy at the sight of her swollen lips and flushed face. "So beautiful…" He found himself whispering before he could stop it and she opened her eyes to stare at him.

"Aaron?" She said his name in a question and he brought one hand to brush her cheek, using his thumb to caress her lower lip, smiling as her eyes fluttered closed and she hummed appreciatively.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully." He started quietly and she opened her eyes again and stared at him, nodding. "Sweetheart, I know that you're aware of how things changed between us, after everything that happened. I'm not talking just about our baby, I'm talking about _us_ , about how we got closer each day, about how our routine changed and we started to lean on each other and now it's like we're a single unit. I can't imagine myself without you anymore and the thought of being away from you it's almost unbearable… going home with you, sleeping next to you every night, waking up and seeing your face first thing in the morning, all these things became my strength, Em, you've become my safe heaven. My everything." He told her without taking his eyes from her and smiled as her eyes welled up. " _This_ , here…" he said mentioning between them "is my everything, Emily. When I see my future I see you. I see us and our baby, Jack, our home, our life together, my life with you by my side…"

"Aaron…" Emily whispered his name with a small sob as he wiped the few tears that rolled down her cheek.

"Dave told me what you said to JJ. It's not true, Emily, and I need you to understand that. I am _not_ single, I am _not_ free to see whoever I want, not in my head, nor do I want to see anyone else. I _am_ committed with this beautiful, stunning woman, who's just the most amazing person I've ever met and who I can't imagine my life without anymore." He said and she smiled at him, closing her eyes as he caressed her cheek. "You're everything that I want, sweetheart, you're all that I want and need. Don't ever doubt how much I am committed to you and how in my eyes there's only you… you're so beautiful, Emily. You're so beautiful and so kind, strong, smart, sweet… you're not perfect, in no way whatsoever." He chuckled. "You're stubborn and you drive me out of my mind when you want to, but _damn_ , I love it. I love every bit of this and I don't want it to end, ever."

"It's just… I thought… you are a good guy and with the baby…" She said quietly and he cupped her cheek, shaking his head vehemently.

"It's not about the baby, Emily." He stated firmly. "I am not going to lie to you saying that our baby has nothing to do with this because we both know that if it wasn't for what happened, the way it happened, we probably wouldn't be here now, because we wouldn't have the courage to cross that line between us, nor did we see each other that way back then. We got closer because of that case and we leaned on each other because of our baby and _because_ of that I got to know you better, outside of the office, out of Agent Emily Prentiss. I got to know Emily, who's a nerd who loves Harry Potter and Vonnegut, who loves chocolate and absolutely despises pineapples and broccolis, who _always_ cry watching Life is Beautiful, who's a cuddler and has the coldest feet I've ever seen, who looks damned good in my t-shirts and who doesn't cook for her life unless it it's lasagna and chicken…" He said and she chuckled softly. "I got to know _you_ , so beautiful when you just woke up even though you think you look horrible." He said looking into her eyes. "I'm not here because we're having a baby together, Emily. I'm here because you make me the happiest I've ever been and I can't believe that we're building a life together _and_ a family together. We're buying a _home_ , Emily." He said with emphasis, trying to make her understand how serious he was about them.

Emily's cheeks were damp by now as she looked at him and listened to him saying everything she always wanted to hear but never thought it was possible. He was here, so close and so _hers_ and she just cupped the back of his neck and brought him down for another kiss, trying to make him feel how much she needed him just as much and wanted him just as much. She nipped his lower lip and smiled at his pleased groan as he circled her waist and pressed her against his hard frame, seeking entry in her mouth with the tip of his tongue caressing her lips.

She opened to him and he dove inside, mapping the line of her teeth and stroking her tongue with his, tasting her, savoring her, claiming her, and she let herself to drown into him. He tasted like coffee and peppermint and like _home_ , like no one had ever tasted, and he made her feel safe and cherished like no one had ever made, and even though it scared her because he had a power she'd never allowed anyone to have, a power of smashing her into ashes, she felt completely safe because she _knew_ he would never do it, she _knew_ she could trust him with her whole and he would never do anything to hurt her, ever.

She knew he would be that guy she always read about in fairy tales. He would be that guy she always watched in movies and read on romances. He would be that kind of guy who would take care of her and look at her like she was the only woman on earth; that kind who would never abandon her and her child and would never neglect their child, even though he had a demanding job. He would be that one who'd open the doors for her, who'd pull the chair and give her his coat if she was feeling cold. He would be the one who would treat her like a princess, like she always dreamed as a child, and also like the woman she was and needed, with passion and respect.

His hand was tangled in her hair and she could feel her lungs screaming for air but she didn't want to let him go because he felt so good and it felt so right and she just wanted to stay there forever. They were painting when they pulled apart she clutched into his jacket, eyes closed, a small smile playing on her swollen lips and he couldn't help but lean down to kiss her again, softer this time, just a brush of lips, just to savor her a little bit more. "God, you are just so beautiful…" He whispered reverently and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"You make me feel beautiful…" She whispered back and he smiled, stealing another small kiss.

"We're on the same page then?" He asked and she grinned at him, nodding quickly. "So we agree that I am yours and you are mine and there is no one else neither of us wants?" She shook her head again and got on her tiptoes and nipped his lower lip, brushing her tongue to soothe it after. "You drive me out of my mind, Emily Prentiss…" He whispered while his hands caressed her back and her grin widened, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed contently against his collar. They savored their embrace for a few minutes before he sighed and squeezed her hip. "You need to rest and I need to get back to the station…" He said quietly, smiling when she tightened her grip on his neck.

"I don't want you to go…" There was an almost whiny tone on her voice and it made him smile against her hair.

"How about I lay down with you until you fall asleep?" He suggested and she hummed appreciatively, brushing her lips against his neck, smiling when he shivered. "C'mon, go change in your PJ's while I text Dave saying I'm going to take a while." He nudged her to the bathroom and sat down on the bed, grabbing his cellphone and texting Dave to say he would get back in one hour, tops, bringing snacks to everyone.

 _I'd take things turned out well, then?_ His friend texted back and he chuckled softly, typing a quick yes just as she got out of the bathroom.

"Everything okay?" She asked and he stared at her in silent for a few moments, swallowing hard at the sight of her dressed in one of his t-shirts and black shorts. He stared at her for a moment before smiling and gesturing her to come closer.

"God, you're beautiful…" He whispered as he took her hand and pulled her into his lap, his hand making its familiar way under her shirt to caress her belly. "It's getting bigger…" He said as he caressed her and she smiled, bringing her hand to join his.

"I know… my pants are getting too tight. I think I need to go shopping again… maybe buy those elastic ones, you know…" She said and he hummed, his face nestled at the crook of her neck.

"Mmm. We can go to the mall when we get back home… maybe start buying some things to our baby…" He suggested and she nodded, snuggling closer to him. "C'mon, sweetheart. Let's go lay down because I really can't stay long…" He said and nudged her up, shedding of his jacket and rolling up his sleeves before getting in beside her. Emily quickly took her position into his arms, smiling as he brought her even closer, planting a light kiss on her forehead.

She tilted her head up and brushed her lips on his, humming as he pressed it harder, cupping her cheek and brushing his tongue against her lips, seeking entrance. Their kisses were lazy and loving and they took their time to savor each other, to make it up for the lost time. They pulled apart only when the lack of air was too much and Emily whimpered shamelessly as their lips parted. "Mmm. Can't we stay here forever?" She whispered and he smiled, leaning in to steal another kiss.

"We can't, honey... But we will get back home together, to our apartment, to fall asleep in our bed, just like every other day from now on…" He whispered back caressing her cheek and she hummed contently.

"I think I like that plan very much…"

"I like it too, sweetheart. I like it too…" He whispered against her hair as she settled back in his arms and sighed contently.

\\*\\*\\*\

They closed the case two days later. They'd have to wait a few hours to get the jet ready so Dave suggested them to go eat at a small restaurant that one of the locals spoke of during the case. While they were finishing gathering their things at the station, Detective Bennett approached them, smiling widely at the unit chief. "Thank you so much again, Aaron. Your team is indeed great and I'm sure we wouldn't be able to solve this case without your help, at least not that quickly." She said leaning in to give him a hug. The contact took the older by surprise and he just patted her back in an awkward half hug before pulling back. The rest of the team stood back watching the interaction, especially a pair of brown eyes, watching them closely.

"There's no need to thank me, Michele. We were just doing our job. I'm just glad we got him before he could get to his next victim…" He said shaking his head. "You have a very good team too, they were really helpful and receptive to us…"

"Thank you…" She smiled at him and then raised an eyebrow. "How about that dinner, then? I heard your flight got delayed…" She asked.

"Yes, the jet got stuck in DC because of a problem and we'll have to wait a few hours, maybe even until tomorrow morning. We were actually going to have dinner in that restaurant a couple of blocks from here, right guys?" He said looking to his team who nodded, keeping their straight faces at the look on the detective's face. "You're welcome to join us, though, if you'd like…" He offered and bit his lip to keep his smile at the way her nostrils flared quickly.

"I'm really hungry, so yeah, I think I'm going to take up on that offer…" She said with a tight smile as she ran her fingers through his forearm.

Hotch quickly stepped away from her and turned back to his teammates, making eye contact with his partner. "Is everyone ready?" He asked and at their nod he gestured to the door and waited until Emily passed by him to follow, his hand brushing the small of her back quickly. They took two separate cars, Hotch, Dave, Michele and JJ in one and Emily, Morgan and Reid in the other. Emily's decision to go in another car raised a few eyebrows but no one commented anything and just made their way to the restaurant.

As soon as they parked, Hotch walked straight towards Emily and stood beside her, his hand making its way to her waist as they walked inside. Neither missed the look on Michele's face but he just smiled at her and brushed his lips on her forehead before pulling the chair for her to sit, taking the seat beside her. Emily rolled her eyes as Michele took the seat on his other side but shrugged it off as Dave started talking about his new car restauration project.

They were interrupted by the waiter who came to write their orders and when Reid ordered a coffee Emily groaned quietly, but not enough for the genius to not hear. "What?" He asked confused.

"Nothing… it's just… I'm kind of nauseated today…" She said with a twitch of her nose and the younger agent just nodded at her and exchanged his drink for an ice tea. "Thank you, Reid…" She said with a smile and he nodded at her.

After the waiter was gone, Hotch put his arm at the back of her chair and brushed her neck. "Are you okay?" He asked and she smiled nodding.

"I'm fine… I think it was one of the deputies' cologne…" She shrugged and tilted her head back into his touch slightly, making him smile.

"There's something I really don't miss from being pregnant." JJ said with a shudder. "I'd rather stay three nights in a row up with Henry crying then being sick because of anything… I remember that Will had to change his cologne and his aftershave because I almost puked on him once…" She chuckled.

"Thank God we didn't have that problem…" Hotch murmured and Emily chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss on his cheek.

"I like the way you smell very much…" She mumbled after pulling back and he grinned at her, his hand caressing her hair.

"So you're pregnant, Agent Prentiss?" Michele asked with a raised eyebrow and Emily nodded, staring her back.

"Yes, I am. Seventeen weeks."

"And you're the father?" She asked looking at Hotch who nodded promptly, his arm now bracing Emily's shoulders. "So you two…"

"Are together, yes…" He said and she nodded slowly, eyebrows still raised.

"Mmm… how interesting…" She hummed and Emily stiffened beside him. "And the Bureau is okay with this?"

"Dave does her evaluations and takes any decision related to her on the field." He nodded. "We're a good team, we function together. Our chief knows better than split us over something we never let affect our performances…"

"I see…" She said tightly but with a polite smile. "Well, I'm really happy for you, Aaron. You too, Agent Prentiss, congratulations…" She said eyeing Emily's bump.

"Thank you, detective." Emily nodded at her just as the waiter came back with their dishes and the subject was dropped. The air during the dinner was still tense, even though they laughed and joked as always, the familiarity and intimacy between them being palpable to the stranger person with them. It was over ten when JJ got a call, saying that the jet would be ready for them in forty minutes and they paid the bill, leaving the restaurant, just as a cab pulled over in front of it.

"Well, it was really good to see you again, Aaron, and thank you one more time for coming so quickly." She said while giving him a quick hug and a peck on his cheek. "I don't know how your relationship is, but if you can, send Haley a kiss for me. Maybe if I visit DC sometime we can have that dinner and catch up…" She said and Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes at her.

"I will and it was good to see you too, Michele." He smiled slightly at her and she waved at the team as she got into the cab.

"That was really awkward or it was just me?" To everyone's surprise it was Reid who spoke and they couldn't help but laugh, breaking the tension.

"That it was, pretty boy. That it was…" Morgan chuckled ruffling his hair as Hotch circled Emily's waist and brought her closer to him, smiling as she tilted her head up to brush her lips on his slightly. "Damn, finally!" The dark profiler whistled. "Took you two long enough!"

Hotch chuckled and shook his head as Emily snuggled closer to him. "All in due time, Derek. All in due time…" He said caressing her back before gesturing to the cars.

It was time to go home.

 **A/N: Next chapter we'll have Anna,** ** _Haley_** **and Jack, and Hotch's birthday. All at the same time. Mmm, do you think it will work?**

 **Let me know what you think of this!**


	22. Author's Note

Hello, everyone. First of all, I'd like to apologize with each and every one of you for my lack of updates. I had some really crappy month with a few family issues. My parents are separated ever since March of last year and this last couple of months have been particularly bad with their fights and everything. I got caught up in the middle of a fight a few weeks ago and my mom hurt me by accident and that left me really bad emotionally. And on top of all, there was a robbery in my home and some serious money was taken and we are in a very difficult situation, financially. Anyway, with all of that I haven't been on my best so everything I started writing was ridiculous and I just couldn't post it.

Things are starting to get easier and I will try to start writing again so, because I'll be damned if I let them take away something that makes me so happy. I know I had promised several oneshots and special fics in December and honestly, I have a list with over ten fics that I'd like to have posted last month, but I just couldn't. I promise though, that I will write all of them and I will post it here, just as I will finish my open stories. So, you guys will probably be seeing Christmas fics for the next few months, so be advised.

I'd like to thank you all for the reviews and PMs. You guys are really the best readers in the world.

I'll be back soon, and I really appreciate your support and comprehension.

Merry Late Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of us.

Love, Liv.


	23. Of Birthdays and Relatives - Part One

**A/N: Hi guys, did you miss me?**

 **First of all, I'd like to apologize for my lack of updates these last few weeks. I had a really bad time in my personal life and I felt that I needed a moment to myself, to reagroup and restart. I am really sorry for making you guys wait, but I wouldn't be able to write anything good the way I was feeling.**

 **But things are getting better, I'm feeling a lot better and I'll start getting back to this. I'm not full into it yet, I spend the last week working on this chapter and I still don't feel like it is my best work, but I know I need to pratice again to get back together properly.**

 **Secondly, I'd like to thank you all for your reviews and PM's, all your positive messages made me stronger and even more excited to get back here. As I said on my last updates, Hotch and Emily need to stay alive and we need to do this, so here I am making my part.**

 **I apologize for any errors. I'm without a beta and my English was a bit rusty. I'm working on it.**

Chapter 22: Of Birthdays and Relatives – Part One

"Emily, sweetheart, how are you?" Anna answered the phone with her warm voice and Emily found herself smiling on her side of the line.

"Hi, Anna. I'm good, thank you. What about you?"

"Oh, honey, I'm doing okay. I have a couple of consults this week so I'm actually keeping myself busy…" She answered.

"That's good, Anna." Emily knew how much alike this woman was with her son. Both Hotchners absolutely hated to feel useless or bored, and Aaron had told her how often his mother complained of having too much free time.

"But tell me, to what do I own this surprise?" Anna asked, referring to the unusual phone call. Their relationship had gotten strong since their first lunch alone but it wasn't normal for the profiler to call the older woman.

"I actually need your help." Emily started with some hesitation.

"Of course, sweetie. What do you need?"

"As you know, Aaron's birthday is this Saturday and I was hoping of surprising him. I thought about arranging a barbecue with the team and closest relatives. You know, Will, Henry, maybe Kevin. And you, Jack and Sean. But obviously I'm not calling Haley to ask that and I don't have Sean's contact so…" Emily explained.

"I understand, honey. That sounds terrific, I know my stubborn son would rather not make a fuss of his birthday as always, so a surprise would do the job…" She said with a chuckle. "Where were you thinking of doing it?"

"I don't know yet. I could ask Dave to borrow his mansion for a day…" She suggested.

"What about here? I could call him inviting you two for lunch so it wouldn't be suspicious. And it may be easier for Jack since he is more comfortable here…" Anna suggested and Emily agreed promptly.

"That's perfect, Anna. I will arrange with the team everything about the food and drinks so you don't have to worry about that. I wouldn't be opposite if you'd like to make the desert though…" She said sheepishly and Anna chuckled.

"Maybe I'll do that, sweetheart." The woman said with a smile. "I will call Sean to see if he can come from New York and call Haley to see if she can bring Jack."

"Do you think she will have a problem with that?" Emily asked.

"I hope not, honey, it's his father's birthday. Aaron has the right to spend this day with his son. I will leave your name out of it as much as I can though."

"I appreciate that, Anna. I know they're divorced and she doesn't have any rights of his personal life anymore but I would hate to be in the way of his relationship with Jack because of her issues." The profiler said. Even though Haley wasn't aware of the change in the nature of their relationship in the last week nor about their plans of buying a house together, she had already made clear more than once her dislike of their situation, especially when Aaron voiced his intent of introducing Jack to Emily.

The lead profiler had already made clear that Jack and Emily would have a relationship for the sake of their unborn child and that Haley shouldn't say anything about it to the boy because he wanted to be the one to explain everything to his son.

"I know, sweetheart. Unfortunately, Tiffany isn't as mature as you are and that affects Aaron's relationship with Jack more than I would like. But I will make sure that my grandson is here on Saturday, don't worry. She knows better than deny it." Anna promised.

"I appreciate that, Anna. I will speak with the team and talk to you later to confirm everything…"

"I will wait for your call, sweetie. And thank you, for being so good for my son." The woman praised and Emily smiled.

"We are good to each other, Anna." She said and they both said their goodbyes. Emily sighed dropping the phone on her desk. She didn't like Haley's posture about her and Hotch's relationship at all. That had been the subject of a couple of discussions between the two profilers, not because they disagreed about the wrongness of her behavior but because Emily didn't want to cause any distress between him and his ex, knowing it would reflect in his relationship with Jack, and also because Hotch was reaching his breaking point with Haley and Emily was afraid that he would blow up really soon.

Hotch had told her the night before that he would take Jack to dinner later that day to talk to him about Emily and the baby because he wanted to have dinner on his birthday with his three favorite person and it was about time to tell his son about the changes in his life. They agreed that now that their relationship had evolved romantically it would be a lot easier to explain everything to him but Emily knew for sure that it would be also more fuel to Haley's issues.

Emily looked up to the office of her unit chief, confirming his absence, since he was in a bunch of meetings with the higher-ups ever since he got in, and got up, sending a quick text to Garcia and JJ and motioning to Morgan and Reid to follow her. The two profilers followed her after exchanging a look and she knocked on Rossi's door before popping her head in. "Hey, do you have a minute?" She questioned and the older motioned her to come in.

She entered the office, followed by Morgan, Reid and JJ, who had just joined them. "What's the meaning of this meeting?" Rossi questioned. Before Emily could answer, the door opened and Garcia entered quickly.

"What required the presence of this Goddess, my beautiful baby mommy?" She asked before sitting at the leather couch by the window.

"Well, I don't know if all of you are aware but Saturday is Aaron's birthday…" Emily started and Garcia clapped her hands excitedly. "I was thinking about a surprise for him… a small barbeque, just us and relatives… I spoke to Anna, his mother, and she will call his brother and Haley to ask for Jack's presence… she also offered her home for us to do it, so he wouldn't be suspicious…" She explained.

"Ooh, that sounds so perfect! I'll bring my special veggie salad…" Garcia said with a big smile.

"Yeah, I told Anna we would take care of food and drinks and she would just make the desert…" Emily nodded.

"I can bring a few appetizers and beers…" Morgan offered.

"I don't cook so I'll bring a few drinks too, non-alcoholics…" Reid said and Emily nodded at him.

"Count me in on those, Reid. I will make a chicken recipe that Aaron loves… Anna will call him inviting us for lunch and I'll offer it…" She said.

"I can bring some smashed potatoes…" JJ said.

"Will and Henry and invited to come too, JJ…" She said and the blonde nodded. "Kevin too, Garcia…"

The tech's smiled slipped a bit before she shrugged. "Kevin and I aren't an item anymore, sugarplum." She explained and Emily, JJ and Morgan all gasped.

"Okay, we're definitely talking about that later…" She said pointing to her friend.

"We too." Morgan said looking at his baby girl.

"I am going to bring something for the grill…" Rossi offered, diverting the subject and Garcia smiled thankfully at him.

"Okay, we're settled then?" Emily asked. At everyone's nod she continued. "I am going to text you guys the address later. You guys will arrive there before me and Aaron… Let's say at eleven? We'll arrive there at eleven thirty or noon…" She asked and they all nodded. "Great, let's go before he returns… don't spoil the surprise, uh?"

"Wait, what about the cake, mommy bear? We can't have birthday wishes without birthday candles…" Garcia argued and Emily pondered.

"I can't order something from his favorite bakery…" She said and Garcia shook her head.

"No can do, sugarplum. Boss man deserves a proper cake. Don't worry, I'll do it on my on… I happen to be very good at baking…" She winked at the brunette who smiled thankfully at her.

"It's settled then… I'll text the details later, okay?" She said and they all nodded before leaving the office. Just as Emily sat at her table again her phone beeped and she smiled at the text.

 _Sean's coming on Friday evening. Tiffany wasn't too happy when I directed the invitation to Jack but said she'll be dropping him at Saturday morning. I asked her to not tell him to not spoil the surprise in case Aaron sees him sometime this week. Your name wasn't mentioned._

She sighed at the mention of Haley and typed a reply quickly.

 _Everything sorted out with the team. They'll be bringing food and drinks, so don't worry. Garcia is baking the cake. They'll arrive around eleven… you call Aaron and invite us for lunch at noon. I'm glad Sean's coming and Haley didn't make a fuss of it._

It was ridiculous, it really was, because the woman didn't have a reason to make a fuss of anything. The papers were signed for years, she was the one who said the final word, she was the one who cheated, who left and didn't care about the family, about anyone's feelings. And now that he was finally moving on, finally happy, able to let the past behind and focus on the future, she decided she wanted to take another shot.

Emily could feel rising the same indignation she felt when Hotch told her about Haley's attempts a couple of weeks ago. It was pitiful and pathetic and deep down she felt sorry for her because she could be finally realizing what she throw away like yesterday's garbage. But that didn't make it right for her to try to make her way into his life again, as if nothing had happened and they could just starting playing family again.

She nearly destroyed him with her betrayal and that wasn't something that could be forgotten so easily. The trust she broke was something that couldn't be repaired to the same level that quickly and simply, as if ever.

 _I will call him later today, sweetheart. Thank you for taking care of him._

She smiled at the text and focused back on her files, her heart warming at the sight of her boyfriend coming back to the bullpen. As he looked at her and smiled, throwing her a playful wink, she ducked her head down and sighed contently.

\\*\\*\\*\

Hotch parked outside his old house later that evening with a smile. He would be taking his son out for supper to tell him about Emily and the baby. Now that they were actually a couple it would be actually easier to explain to the boy that his daddy found someone else and they would have a baby together.

Emily had questioned him about the timing, asking if he didn't want to wait a couple weeks more to tell him but he told her he wanted to spend his birthday with the people he loved, together. So when his mother called him earlier inviting them for lunch he decided he had to talk to his son before so he could introduce him to Emily without any issues.

As he knocked on the door and heard the 'coming' from his ex-wife he sighed, not at all interested in her reaction at the news.

"Hi…" Haley opened the door with a smile and he nodded at her, smiling politely as he walked inside. "Jack is just finishing getting ready. He can't decide what shirt to wear, either the blue superman one or the red superman one…" She chuckled and he smiled shaking his head at his son's antics.

"Haley, I am going to tell Jack about Emily and our baby tonight." He spoke directly, watching as the smile slipped off from her face.

"Oh."

"I want them to meet this Saturday at lunch and I think it'd be easier if I explain everything to him before." He explained and she nodded.

"And how do you expect to explain?" She answered, trying to keep the venom from her voice.

"I'll just tell him the truth." He shrugged. "It'll be easier now because Emily and I are in fact together…" He told her and this time she couldn't contain her expression.

"You're what?"

"Exactly that. Emily and I are in a serious relationship… I moved in with her for now but we're looking for a house to move in permanently…" He said calmly and watched as the vein in her forehead engorged.

"I can't believe this, Aaron…" She whispered. "You're really going to go on with this fantasy you started with your subordinate?" She asked.

"It's not a fantasy, Haley. I care about Emily, a lot. I see myself falling for her and I know she feels the same. We were reluctant at first but we couldn't pretend we didn't care about each other like that anymore. She'll be the mother of my child and we want to build a family together…"

"Daddy!" Before she could retort Jack came downstairs and jumped into his father's arms, dressed in his blue superman shirt.

"Hey buddy…" Hotch smiled into the sandy hair and squeezed his son into his chest. "Are you ready for our supper?" He asked looking to the boy.

"Yeah!" Jack grinned and nodded fervently at his father, making him chuckle.

"Let's go, then, buddy." He said putting the boy down. Jack ran to the front door as Hotch turned back to his ex-wife, who watched them quietly. "I'll bring him back at his bedtime." He said, following his son. Before leaving though he turned back to her once more. "I don't understand your behavior towards Emily, seriously. You know nothing about her, you have no right to make any judgment. She didn't steal me from you. You threw me away. Either be happy for me or ignore it, nonetheless leave us alone and don't interfere on her relationship with Jack. That I won't tolerate." He said quietly enough for her to hear but not for Jack to catch it.

Haley didn't answer it. She just watched them leave and then sat on the couch with a sigh. She knew it had been a dumb move to attack Emily again. It wasn't that way that she would make him think about them as a possibility again. She needed to change tactics. As he said, she needed to either be happy for him or ignore it. If she ignored it, he would just distance himself and her chance would be as good as none. Her only option then, was to be there, support him and try to make him remember the woman he fell in love with twenty years ago.

It wouldn't be easy to pretend to be happy for him.

But she couldn't give up on her family like that.

\\*\\*\\*\

"Is your pizza good buddy?" Hotch asked as his son dug into his second pepperoni slice. The boy nodded at him excitedly, mouth too full to speak, making him smile. They finished their slices and Hotch took a deep breath before searching the best way to approach the subject. "Jack… I need to have big boy's talk with you now. Is that okay?"

"Okay, daddy…" He nodded looking at his father.

"Buddy, do you remember that talk we had a while ago? When daddy went to live in another place?" He started.

"About mommies and daddies having problems?"

"Yes buddy, that one. Remember I told you sometimes, mommies and daddies stop getting along and because of that, it's better for them to live apart to avoid having fights and problems…" He said. "Here's the thing buddy… even though mommy and I stopped getting along with each other, it's normal if any of us meet someone else, a good guy or a nice lady, and start spending some time together…" He explained.

"Phil's daddy went to live away and then his mommy met this guy and now he lives with them. Phil calls him daddy Paul." Jack said and Hotch smiled nodding.

"Exactly, buddy. Someday, your mommy may find some really nice guy and he may start spending some time with you both. And that's okay, because mommy deserves to be really happy and us, grown-ups, like to have someone to make us company." He said. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, daddy…"

"Good, buddy. So, here's the thing… daddy met a really nice lady, and we started to spend lots of time together…" He explained. "Her name is Emily, she's really pretty and funny, and I like her very much…"

"She's your girlfriend?" Jack asked and Hotch nodded.

"Yes, buddy, she's my girlfriend." Hotch said. "I moved in with her because my apartment was really small and hers had more room for us… we're going to fix a room especially for you when you come visit us…" He said at the boy.

"She wants to meet me?" He asked confused.

"Of course she does, buddy. She's really excited to meet you because I told her a lot of things about you…"

"You think she'll like me?"

"I know she'll love you, buddy. In fact, I'm sure she already does, just because I love you…" He told the boy who smiled at him. "There's other thing. Emily and I care a lot about each other and we want to be together for a very, very long time. How do you feel about having a sibling?" He asked and the boy's eyes lit up.

"Like a brother? To play all the time? Awesome! When is he coming? Mommy is pregnant?" He fired away and Hotch chuckled.

"Calm down, buddy. No, mommy is not pregnant. Emily is, and since is my baby too, it will be your half-brother or half-sister…" He explained.

"I hope it's a brother… girls are boring… they don't know how to play and they have cooties." The boy said with a disgusted face and Hotch laughed.

"We don't know what is going to be yet, but girls are fun too. You'll find that out soon enough…" He said shuffling his hair. They continued to talk about Emily and the baby and Hotch felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders at his son's reaction.

After he took Jack home he walked into the apartment to find Emily curled up on the couch, watching a movie and eating ice-cream. "Is there some of that left for me?" He asked as he hung his coat and made his way to her.

"More of this, I have… for you, that's another story…" Emily teased him, making him chuckle.

"Is that so, Miss Prentiss? Nobody taught you to share?" He asked as he leaned down to kiss her. "Hi, sweetheart…" He smiled against her lips.

"Hi…" She breathed. "How it was with Jack?" She asked as he sat beside her, stealing her spoon and earning a glare from her.

"Surprisingly good. I can't help but be amazed at how incredible my son is. He understood everything and was really excited about the baby, though he is adamant of being a boy because girls are boring and have cooties." He said and Emily chuckled.

"And Haley?"

"Wasn't pleased but I set her straight. She doesn't have a reason to make a scene." He said.

"I hope she doesn't give us any problems." Emily sighed, leaning against him.

"She better not." Hotch said giving her a kiss on her hair. This was just too precious to let anyone mess it up.

\\*\\*\\*\

Saturday came and surprisingly they managed to hide the surprise from Hotch. The team arrived right after eleven at Anna's, choosing to take just one car, with the exception of JJ who came with Will and Henry, and park it a few blocks down the street to not raise suspicious.

"Mrs. Hotchner, where can we put the drinks?" Reid asked and Anna smiled at him.

"None of this missus thing, sweetie. It's just Anna. There's a cooler out there but you can put some of it on the fridge too." She said as Garcia and JJ finished setting the table, just as the doorbell rang. "That must be Haley, bringing Jack…" She said, going towards the front door.

"Grandma!" Jack hugged her legs tightly making her smile.

"Hello, honey! Are you excited for daddy's birthday?" She asked looking at him, who nodded.

"Yep! It's a surprise!" He squealed and Anna chuckled at him.

"Where's my nephew?" Sean's voice came from inside and the boy raced towards it.

"Uncle Sean!"

Anna chuckled at them and turned back to Haley. "Thank you for dropping him, Haley. Aaron will take him back later…" She said but the blonde just smiled at her and motioned to come in.

"Actually I was hoping to wish a happy birthday to Aaron… is that a problem?" She asked calmly and Anna raised an eyebrow but shook her head, motioning for her to come in. "I brought some of that garlic bread Aaron loves…"

"That's good, Haley, thank you. The girls are in the kitchen finishing the cake and the boys are outside setting the grill."

"Oh? I thought it would be just family… you know, you, Sean…" She said.

"This was all Emily's idea, so of course the team was invited." Anna said and watched Haley struggling to keep her smile.

"That's very thoughtful of that…" She managed to say.

"Girls, Haley is staying to wish Aaron a happy birthday. She brought some garlic bread, could you please tell her where to put?" Anna said to JJ and Garcia, who raised their eyebrows.

"Of course… we're setting the table out here, Haley…" JJ said motioning to the French doors and leading her outside.

"I didn't know she was invited…" Garcia whispered to Anna.

"She wasn't…" Anna answered and Garcia widened her eyes, nodding.

"Mmm. That'll certainly be entertaining…"

 **A/N: Next chapter will be the party per se. How do you think Haley will behave? we have surprises coming :)**

 **Reviews are very much appreciate and it really motivates me to write faster. Please, send me your thoughts.**

 **Love, Liv.**


	24. Of Birthdays and Relatives - Part Two

**Author's note: Hello everyone. First, I'm very sorry for the lack of updates this couple of months. It wasn't a planned hiatus, but it was necessary due to difficults in real life. I wasn't even able to answer your reviews and for that I'm incredible sorry.**

 **I'm getting back on my foot and hopefully the updates will be more regular. I will post one chapter per week for now, maybe with some oneshots on the way, until I'm able to write again the way I used to.**

 **I hope you guys are still with me and let's keep our Hotchniss alive!**

 **Love, Liv.**

Chapter 23: Of Birthdays and Relatives – Part Two

Hotch felt her watching him as he gained consciousness that morning. A small smile started playing on his lips before he opened his eyes and sure enough there she was, her face glowing in the sunlight, sitting next to him with a smile on her lips. "Morning, birthday boy…" She whispered as she leaned to kiss him.

"Mmm…" He hummed contently, cupping the back of her head as the kiss grew deeper and longer. "It's definitely a good morning, sweetheart…" He whispered against her lips as he pulled back. "How long are you up?" He asked.

"About an hour…" She answered before looking shyly at the foot of the bed. "I wanted to make you something…" She said with a shrug and he raised an eyebrow as he sat up and saw a small tray.

"You cooked me breakfast?" He asked smiling.

"I tried…" She said with a small smile. "I see you cooking every morning and I thought, hey, it can't be that hard…" She shrugged. "I made that veggie omelet you like and some French toast…" She said picking the tray and bringing it closer to them. "I hope it tastes good…"

Hotch smiled at her as he saw her work and brushed her cheek with his fingers, leaning closer to kiss her. "Everything looks great, sweetheart. Thank you so much for doing this…" He kissed her shy smile and she hummed against his lips.

"Happy birthday…" She said as they pulled apart.

"Happy birthday indeed, sweetheart." He smiled. "Mom is waiting for us at noon, right?" He asked as they started eating.

"Yes… I already started the chicken… it is marinating for while…" She told him.

"Mmm… Your chicken parmesan with mom's tiramisu for desert… this birthday is getting just perfect…" He said contently as he finished his pancakes. "And this breakfast is simply delicious, sweetheart…" He said and she smiled brightly at him.

"I'm glad you liked it… I learned from the best…" She smirked. "I'm going to continue the chicken now, we have two hours before needing to get going…" She said starting to get up but he caught her arm before she could leave.

"Wait a minute, not just yet…" He said. With the other hand he placed the tray on the floor and pulled her over him, sliding down the bed. "I need a couple of birthday kisses first…" He said and she chuckled at him.

"Oh, you do, don't you?" She teased and he nodded at her with a gleam in his eyes. "So greedy, Mr. Hotchner…" She whispered against his lips.

"Only for you, Miss Prentiss…" He whispered back and captured her lips in a deep and long kiss, nibbling her bottom lip before tracing his tongue along it, seeking entrance. She didn't disappoint and greeted him, massaging his tongue with hers as she braced herself over him, straddling his hips and kissing him with as much passion she could.

He moaned deeply as his hands tangled in her hair and she grinded herself against him. It was incredible how much he desired her, he thought. In the almost five months that led them until this moment, his feelings towards the brunette in his arms grew so deeper that sometimes it scared him. He craved her presence, needed her near, dreaded anytime they had to spend apart.

His urge to protect her after what happened grew to a need to be with her, to get to know her, to spend time with her and never be apart. Sometimes he felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest with so many emotions this tiny woman made him feel and it was such a good feeling that he never wanted to stop.

She squealed against his mouth as he flipped them over suddenly and covered her body with his, his hands making their way through her waist until her hips as his kisses grew stronger. "God, you're so, so beautiful…" He whispered with reverence as he pulled back and stared at her flushed face and swollen mouth. He smiled at her blush and caressed her cheek, staring straight into her eyes. "You're my greatest gift, you know? You gave me a second chance to me happy, to make it right, make it last…" He said as her eyes watered. "I'm falling for you, Emily Prentiss… so hard and so fast, and I never want to let you go…" He whispered as her tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Aaron…" She managed to get out before leaning up to catch his lips with hers again, kissing him passionately and trying to show him how much his feelings were reciprocated. "I'm falling for you too…" She whispered against his lips, her big brown eyes staring at his hazel ones.

He smiled at her and kissed her again, trying to convey in his kisses how much she meant for him, how much she was vital in his life and how much he needed her. He was aware that they had a big road in front of them, as a couple and as parents. He knew that they needed to grow a whole lot together, in their trust on each other, in their intimacy, their contact as a couple and all the little scars they knew were still there from their experience.

But even with all that he had faith they would get there because he had never felt anything remotely close to what he was feeling for this woman and he could see in her eyes each time he looked at her that she felt it too, that she needed him too, and he was damned if he was going to blow this chance.

That wasn't an option anymore.

He couldn't live without her.

Period.

\\*\\*\\*\

"I still can't believe Haley didn't allow me to have lunch with Jack… it's my birthday…" Hotch murmured as he pulled into his mother's parkway.

Emily bit the inside of her cheek to prevent the smile at the pout present in her boyfriend's lips. She felt bad at the desolation in his voice when he told her the talk with his ex-wife while she was cooking, when Haley told him he could only pick up Jack at the end of the day because her sister was in town with her children and Jack was playing with his cousins. He barely managed to speak a few minutes with him through the phone and that made him incredibly cranky, which was very uncommon and entertaining.

She knew that Haley only cut his talk with the boy to avoid him spoiling the surprise and even though it had seriously hurt the profiler, he would be happy with the surprise.

Or so she hopped.

"I'm sorry for that, Aaron… but you will pick him for dinner and I know he will give you a lot of birthday kisses too…" She winked at him and managed to get a small smile. "Now quit pouting and let's enjoy lunch with your mother, okay?" She said squeezing his hand and he nodded at her.

They walked towards Anna's door and knocked on it. It wasn't long before the elder woman opened it with a big smile. "Oh, my birthday boy…" She exclaimed as she cupped his cheeks and kissed it. "I can't believe you're turning forty-four… it was yesterday I could pick you in my arms…" She said quietly.

"Mom…" Hotch chuckled at her shaking his head. "Every year you say the same thing…"

"Oh you shush it…" She waved him. "Hi sweetie, so good to see you!" She smiled at Emily, taking her in a hug.

"Hi Anna, good to see you too…" Emily said with a smile.

"Let's get inside… I arranged the table at the backyard for us… it's such a beautiful day to stay outside…" She said and walked them to the backdoor, winking discretely at Emily on the way.

Hotch opened the door and widened his eyes at the surprise scream he received from his friends and family. "What the…" He gasped and looked back at his mother.

"Emily called me last week and organized everything with your friends…" Anna explained and the profiler turned to his suddenly shy girlfriend.

"Surprise?!" She said with a tentative smile and watched his lips turning upright as he digested everything.

"You're incredible…" He whispered as he leaned down to kiss her deeply but briefly. He turned back to everyone and smiled as he approached his team. "You guys tricked me…" He said in a fake stern voice.

"Happy birthday, boss man!" Garcia was the first to reach him and he chuckled at his bubbly tech as she hugged him.

"Thank you, Penelope…" He smiled at her. He greeted the rest of the team before his eyes settled at the little sandy hair boy smiling widely at him. "Hey buddy!" He exclaimed as the boy raced towards him.

"Happy birthday, daddy!" Jack exclaimed throwing his arms around his father's neck. "We surprise you!" He giggled at him and Hotch laughed happily at his son.

"You sure did, buddy, you tricked me!" He said tickling the boy who giggled happily.

"Mommy said it was a surprise and I don't say it!" He said with his toothy grin. Hotch noticed his ex-wife approaching them with a smile.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I had to make up something so you wouldn't ruin the surprise…" She explained. "I hope you know I'd never keep him away from you, Aaron, especially on your birthday…" She said.

"Thank you, Haley…" He nodded at her with a small smile.

"I wasn't exactly invited but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday…" She said looking briefly at Emily who widened her eyes.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Haley. I asked Anna to talk to you about Jack but I didn't think you'd feel comfortable to come… please, stay and have lunch with us… there's more than enough for everyone…" The brunette rushed to say and Hotch raised an eyebrow at his ex-wife for her stranger behavior. He knew she normally wouldn't want to stay for something like this and he couldn't help but think it was about their last talk.

Haley offered Emily a tight smile and nodded. "If I'm not imposing, than I'd like to stay, please…" She said before turning back to Hotch. "But, anyway… happy birthday, Aaron…" She approached him, leaning up to hug him and press a small kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Haley…" Hotch nodded, taking a small step back as she pulled away. He looked at his son and smiled before crouching at his level. "Buddy, do you remember our talk about daddy's girlfriend?" He asked and the boy nodded. "Well, she's here now. Wanna meet her?" He asked and this time he nodded shyly. Hotch motioned Emily to come closer and she knelt beside him. "Jack, this is Emily. Can you say hi?"

"Hi, Miss Em'ly…" He said shyly and the brunette grinned at him.

"Hello, sweetie. Your daddy told me a lot about you…" She said and her grinned widened as the boy smiled shyly at her. "He told me you love superheroes, is that true?"

"Yeah… I like superheroes, just like daddy… you work with daddy, you are a superhero too?" The boy asked with big hazel eyes.

"I work with your daddy, yes honey… I guess I can be a superhero too…" She said winking at her boyfriend who was smiling at them.

"That's so cool! When I get big I want to be a superhero too…" He said with a tooth grin and the brunette all but melted at the sight.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sure you'll be the greatest superhero of all times…" She said pinching his cheek. As the boy giggled at her she looked at his father and grinned as he mouthed 'I told you so'.

The lunch was served and everyone grabbed their plates and took a seat at the big table that had been settled at the backyard. It was perceptible how the team had intimacy and how the conversation and laugh flew without effort, and how the ex-Mrs Hotchner didn't fit in that. She tried to be polite and get involved on the talk, praising the food the girls had brought, but it wasn't so easy.

"So… how did Haley end up staying here?" Emily whispered to JJ.

"Anna said she wanted to wish Hotch a happy birthday…" The blonde answered and Emily nodded slowly.

"Mmm. I'm sure she did…" She said watching the mother of one trying to catch Hotch's attention with a conversation about Jack.

"Do you think she has a vendetta?" JJ asked.

"I think she's starting to see what she lost. And she's not liking it…" The brunette answered as her boyfriend turned his eyes towards her, giving her a warm smile.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about…" JJ said.

Emily smiled at her and nodded. "I don't think so too…" She said as she rubbed her belly with a grimace.

"Are you okay?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, I'm good… it's just a discomfort. Like a fluttering feeling… I think it's gas, you know…" She explained and JJ nodded slowly.

"Fabulous mommy, little jellybean, let's go get the cake…" Garcia came excited towards them. Both women chuckled at the tech but followed her towards the kitchen anyway. A few minutes later they were coming back outside with a big chocolate cake with little blue candies lit up.

Garcia started the song and was quickly followed by everyone else as they walked towards the birthday man. "You gotta make a wish, daddy!" Jack exclaimed at the end of the song and Hotch grinned at him, sneaking a glance at his girlfriend and giving her a wink before closing his eyes and blowing the candles.

"Thank you guys, you really didn't have to…" He said.

"Of course we did, sweetie. It's your birthday…" Anna said exasperatedly at her son.

"Aaron always dismissing his own birthday… do you remember his thirty years old party, Anna? He almost blew it acting like a Grinch!" Haley said with a big smile, ignoring Hotch's uncomfortable posture.

"Yeah, I do, Haley… thankfully this year we managed to do everything right…" She said with a tight smile before turning towards Emily with a warmer one.

"I'm going to get the plates and a knife…" Garcia said, racing towards the kitchen in her seven inch heels, cutting the tension a bit.

Anna noticed Emily rubbing her belly a few times, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "Yeah, he's the worst when it's about his birthday but he sure knows how to make a surprise… remember my twentieth birthday? It was so wonderful…" Haley continued to talk and even touched his forearm briefly, trying to make a point.

As Emily let out a painful grimace, Anna ignored her former daughter-in-law and approached the brunette. "Sweetheart, are you okay? Are you in pain?" She asked and Hotch was beside her in a second, his hand brushing the hair on her forehead and the other on her back.

"No, it's nothing… it's just-" she stopped with a gasp and looked her wide brown eyes with the hazel ones looking at her apprehensively.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Hotch asked worried and frowned as she grabbed his hand and placed on her belly, her now watered eyes staring at him. "Emily?" He asked confused but before she could answer the both felt it. "Oh my God." Hotch's own eyes widened and he looked down at her belly as another kick came.

"That's our baby…" Emily whispered as the first tear fell down her cheek and Hotch stood now in front of her, both his hands caressing her belly as their child greeted them.

"It's amazing…" Hotch whispered back as he leaned his forehead against hers. Their friends and family watched the scene with smiles, all except for one, but neither agents noticed anything, too focused on the significance of that moment. He brushed his lips against hers as the kicks stopped and circled her waist, bringing her tightly against his frame. "Thank you…" He mumbled at her, eyes shining with a happiness he hadn't felt in a very long time, all because the two human beings in his arms.

Emily simply grinned at him as her arms found their way to his neck, brushing her lips against his again, closing her eyes to convey that moment and memorize everything. Her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest and she felt so cared and so safe and so… loved. Loved like she never had been in her life and that both excited and terrified her, but she'd be damned if she would let it go.

 **A/N: Reviews are incredible appreciated. Feel free to press the button! :)**


	25. Author's Note Two

**Hello readers.**

 **I'd like to thank you so much for the nomination on PCA! Really, it is a dream coming true and even though I haven't make an update these last month (I'm working on a new chapter AND a new story as we speak) you guys continue to support me and giving me motives to keep writing.**

 **Thank you, really.**

 **The new chapter will be posted sooner rather than later, promise.**

 **And please, vote on UT!**

 **Love, Liv.**


	26. Chapter 24: Interlude - Part Two

**A/N: Hello everyone.**

 **Yes, this is a real update, although it is more like a transition chapter. The real chapter will be posted later along with a new oneshot I'm just finishing.**

 **Before anything, I'd like to thank whoever nominated this story on PCA. Really, I wasn't expecting to be nominated in any categories, let alone TWO! So thank you very much, really. Even though my updates are not as much as frequent as I wish, you guys continue to be amazing readers and I love you all so much.**

 **So please, vote on us as Best Het Romance and Best Hotch/Emily fic. I appreciate every single vote you guys give us.**

 **Thank you again!**

Chapter 24: Interlude – Part Two

"I don't know about you guys but from what I saw today, the ex-Mrs Hotchner isn't very fond of Hotch moving on…" Derek said while raising an eyebrow at his colleagues. It was the end of the day and they had just left Anna's house after helping cleaning everything up. There had been a very pleasant but also awkward afternoon, since Haley insisted on staying until Jack was starting to get cranky without his nap and she didn't have an excuse to stay chit chatting with the team while the boy was sleeping.

"She's definitely pretending to be, though. Not so subtle and so not smart to do in a room full of profilers, of course…" JJ added. "She's not that good of an actress."

"Either if she's fond or not, either if she's jealous or pretending or anything, Aaron isn't stupid. He was married for thirteen years with the woman, together at least five years before that. He knows her very well to see what she's doing and not letting her get anything with it." Dave said while driving. "Unfortunately he's too much of a gentleman to put her in her place in front of everyone or he'd have done just that today. But I know that if she gets too much in the way he will put his foot down. He won't let her jeopardize what he has now…"

"And he's _so_ in love with my beautiful mommy-bear…" Garcia gushed from the passenger seat.

"Now _that_ is true." Morgan pointed. "I'd never thought I'd seen such a look on Hotch's face. The man is whipped…"

"I've always known they would make such a cute couple…" Garcia continued. "They're so alike that I really don't know how they couldn't see it… too bad it had to be this way but even so, they're perfect for each other…"

"They're the most professional people I've ever met, baby girl… Hotch is too 'by the rules' and Emily would never allow herself to think about a superior like that… especially with their history…" Morgan said.

"What history?" Dave asked.

"Oh, I forgot you got here later… Hotch hated Emily's guts when she got into the unit…" Morgan explained. "Apparently her transfer wasn't authorized by him or Gideon and you know how much hates to be in control. It didn't help that she was an Ambassador's daughter and was raised within politics… until he learned she was completely abhorrent of politics he made things pretty difficult for her. She even quit that time Gideon went missing."

"And why did she come back?"

"Hotch went after her." JJ answered. "They never said anything about it, but I think Strauss has something to do with all that. I think she brought Emily wanting something in return and when Em found out, she left. I think that was what made Hotch start respecting her…"

"Erin was certainly capable of doing something like that…" Dave nodded.

"Anyway… after she came back things got better. He started pairing them together on cases and they actually built a healthy relationship…" Morgan said.

"See… I told you, they're perfect for each other. It just took a little time for them to figure…" Garcia winked making him chuckle at her. "Now they're having a baby and they're going to get married and they going to have more babies and live happily ever after…" She said clapping her hands as the others laughed at her.

"I hope you're right, baby girl…" Morgan said squeezing her shoulder. "Although life sometimes get a lot more complicated than that."

 **A/N: Again, the real chapter will come later with a bit of drama on a case. Love you all.**


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